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The Virgin Galactic VSS Unity is seen during a test flight on the Mojave Desert in California. (AFP Photo / Virgin Galactic)
WASHINGTON: The two companies that lead the pack in the pursuit of space tourism say that they are just months away from their first passenger flights out of this world – even though neither one nor the other year 39; other has set date.
Virgin Galactic, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, and Blue Origin, by Amazon creator Jeff Bezos, are preparing to be the first to complete their tests – with the two companies using a radically different technology.
Moment of weightlessness
The passengers of Blue Origin will be in orbit around the Earth: their experience in weightlessness will only last a few minutes. This is a very different offer from the first space tourists, who paid tens of millions of dollars to get to the International Space Station (ISS) in the 2000s.
Having paid a Much cheaper ticket with Virgin, still unknown with Blue Origin – the new tour of space tourists will be propelled tens of miles into the atmosphere, before descending to Earth. By comparison, the ISS is orbiting 400 miles (400 miles) from our planet.
The goal is to approach or cross the imaginary line marking where space begins – either the Karman line, 100 kilometers or 62 miles, or the 50-mile limit recognized by the line. US Air Force.
At this altitude, the sky seems dark and the curvature of the earth can be seen clearly.
Virgin Galactic
With Virgin Galactic, six passengers and two pilots are embarked on SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity, which looks like a private jet.
The VSS Unity will be attached to a carrier spacecraft – the WhiteKnightTwo – from which it will then detach itself at approximately 49,000 feet (15,000 meters). released, the spacecraft will launch its rocket and go to the sky
Then, the passengers will float in weightlessness for several minutes, before returning to Earth.
The descent is slowed down by a "feathering system" which sees the tail of the craft pivoting, as if it were before returning to normal and hovering to land at the "spaceport" Virgin in the New Mexico Desert
In total, the mission lasts between 90 minutes and two hours.On May 29 test in the Mojave Desert, California, the spacecraft reached an altitude 21 miles to space.
In October 2014, the Virgin spacecraft crashed due to a piloting error .. The tests then resumed with a new craft. [19659006] The company also reached an agreement for the opening of a second "spaceport" at Taranto-Grottaglie Airport, in the south of the country.
Branson in May 4 he was hoping to be one of the first passengers in the next 12 months. "About 650 people make up the rest of the waiting list, V said. irgin at AFP
Blue Origin
Blue Origin, meanwhile, has developed a system closer to the traditional rocket: the New Shepard
. six passengers take place in a "capsule" attached to the top of a rocket 60 feet long. After the launch, it detaches and continues its trajectory several kilometers to the sky. During a test on April 29, the capsule made it 66 miles.
After a few minutes of weightlessness during which passengers can admire the view through large windows, the capsule gradually falls on the ground with three large parachutes and retrofusers
From take-off to landing, the flight lasted 10 minutes during the last test
Until now, tests were conducted only with the help of mannequins at the West Origin, Texas site.
It has recently been reported that the first tests with the Blue Origin astronauts will take place "at the end of this year", with tickets for the public scheduled to go on sale in 2019.
But in the comments to AFP Friday, the business hit
"We have not set price for tickets and we have not had any serious discussions in the interior Blue on the subject, "said the firm. "We have a schedule of flight tests and schedules of these types still have uncertainties and contingencies."
What is the next step?
SpaceX and Boeing are developing their own capsules to transport NASA's astronauts, presumably 2020, after the delays – a major investment that companies will likely offset by offering private passenger flights.
"If you're looking to go into space, you'll have quadrupled the menu of options you've already had" Phil Larson, vice-dean at the University of Colorado, Boulder & # 39; College of Engineering and Applied Science
In the longer term, the Russian firm that manufactures Soyuz rockets is studying the possibility of bringing tourists back to the ISS. And an American start-up called Orion Span announced earlier this year that she hoped to place a luxury space hotel into orbit in a few years – but the project is still in its infancy
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