![]() ![]() SpaceX already ranks as the most well-established player in the burgeoning constellation of commercial rocket ventures, having launched numerous cargo payloads and astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA. Those suborbital flights, lasting a matter of minutes, were short hops compared with Inspiration4’s spaceflight profile.ĭragon has separated from Falcon 9’s second stage /pOfgJ9LsvE Rival companies Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc and Blue Origin inaugurated their own private-astronaut services this summer, with their respective founding executives, billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, each going along for the ride. Sian Proctor, Hayley Arceneaux, and Chris Sembroski with Jared Isaacman is aiming for an orbital altitude of 575 km above Earth, higher than the International Space Station or Hubble Space Telescope, and the farthest any human will have flown from Earth since the end of NASA’s Apollo moon program in 1972, according to SpaceX.Īt that height, the Crew Dragon will circle the globe once every 90 minutes at a speed of some 27,360 kph, or roughly 22 times the speed of sound. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a leading pediatric cancer center in Memphis, Tennessee. The mission, called Inspiration4, was conceived by Isaacman mainly to raise awareness and support for one of his favorite causes, St. ![]() Time magazine has put the ticket price for all four seats at $200 million. Isaacman has paid an undisclosed sum to fellow billionaire Musk to send himself and his three crewmates aloft. Still, it will probably take some time to build up the space tourism industry, said Marco Caceres, a space industry analyst with Teal Group Corp., an aerospace and defense market analysis firm.It marked the debut flight of SpaceX owner Elon Musk’s new orbital tourism business, and a leap ahead of competitors likewise offering rides on rocket ships to customers willing to pay a small fortune for the exhilaration - and bragging rights - of spaceflight. "We're approaching $100 million in private sales already," Bezos said during the news briefing. He added that interest skyrocketed after Blue Origin announced earlier this year that it would auction off a seat on a future flight. Bezos said the company is planning two more crewed launches this year, and eventually hopes to fly with more regularity. Both Branson’s and Bezos’ flights could open up a potentially lucrative new market for high-priced trips to the edge of space.īlue Origin hasn’t yet announced the cost of tickets on suborbital joyrides, but they are expected to cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars. The New Shepard capsule flies above the Kármán line, while Virgin Galactic’s craft reached an altitude of around 53 miles during Branson’s flight, which fueled a budding rivalry between the companies.īezos’ flight was a critical milestone for Blue Origin and the commercial spaceflight industry, which until now has been dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The edge of space is often defined by the so-called Kármán line, at 62 miles. ![]() Both the rocket and capsule are also designed to be reusable.īlue Origin’s capsule is also designed to reach a higher altitude than Virgin Galactic’s vehicle. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and capsule launch vertically and are designed to fly autonomously. Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered Unity craft launches from a carrier airplane from an altitude of 50,000 feet and is flown by two onboard pilots. It's another thing to see with your own eyes how fragile it is."Īlthough Bezos’ suborbital experience was similar to that of Branson, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic operate with different flight profiles. "It's one thing to recognize that intellectually. "It's actually incredibly thin," Bezos said about Earth's atmosphere. ![]()
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