Civilian Ticket Price 600 Million Won
Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company, has successfully completed its first space tourism flight with private citizens on board. Although this is Virgin Galactic's second commercial spaceflight, it is the first time that private ticket purchasers have been aboard.
On the 10th (local time), Virgin Galactic launched a spacecraft carrying six people, including three private passengers and crew members.
Virgin Galactic's mothership, 'VSS Eve,' took off around 11 a.m. EST from the Spaceport America space center in New Mexico. About 20 minutes later, the spacecraft 'VSS Unity' separated from the mothership and ascended to the edge of space, approximately 55 miles (88.51 km) above the Earth.
The passengers experienced three minutes of weightlessness at this altitude while gazing out at the view of space through the windows. The spacecraft then completed the remainder of the flight and successfully landed on the runway. The total flight time lasted about 90 minutes.
The space tourism flight included three private citizens: John Goodwin, an 80-year-old former British canoeist diagnosed with Parkinson's disease; Keisha Shahaf, a businesswoman and health coach from the Caribbean; and her daughter, Anastasia Meyers, a university student.
Goodwin was one of the original purchasers of Virgin Galactic's first space tourism ticket when they were first sold in 2005. At that time, the ticket price was $200,000 (approximately 260 million KRW).
Goodwin, who competed in the 1972 Olympic canoeing event, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2014. In a statement, he said, "I hope to show that such a disability is not an end but the beginning of a new adventure."
Since 2018, this was Virgin Galactic's seventh spaceflight, but it was the first time that ticket purchasers were on board.
The other passengers, Shahaf and Meyers, mother and daughter, won their seats by participating in an event where donating to the nonprofit organization 'Space for Humanity' gave them a chance to enter a lottery for Virgin Galactic space tourism tickets. They beat out over 160,000 competitors to secure their seats.
Earlier in June, Virgin Galactic's first commercial flight, 'Galactic 01,' carried members of the Italian Air Force.
There are currently 800 people on Virgin Galactic's waiting list for spaceflights. The ticket prices sold by the company over the past decade ranged from $200,000 to $250,000 per seat, but the current price has risen to about $450,000 (approximately 600 million KRW).
Virgin Galactic was founded in 2004 by British billionaire Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group. Branson, who lives in the British Virgin Islands, held a party on Antigua Island on the day of the flight to watch Virgin Galactic's mission.
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