Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has reportedly booked a flight to suborbital space with Virgin Galactic. Musk has booked the flight days after Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson flew to the edge of space.
Musk has been pioneering commercial space travel through his firm Space X, however, unlike Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic he has not announced any plans for launching tourists into space.
Musk has made a $10,000 deposit to secure a ride on a future flight, Richard Branson told The Sunday Times. However, Space X has not commented on this matter. Elon Musk was at the Spaceport America facility in the Mojave desert when the Virgin Galactic founder reached suborbital space at Mach 3 speed and managed to return to the surface safely.
"Elon's a friend, and maybe I'll travel on one of his ships one day," Branson told The Sunday Times. Musk had met with Branson before the Virgin Galatic founder's flight into suborbital space. "Big day ahead. Great to start the morning with a friend. Feeling good, feeling excited, feeling ready," Branson had tweeted upon meeting Musk.
A Virgin Galactic spokesperson has confirmed that Elon Musk has bought a ticket for a ride into suborbital space, according to the Wall Street Journal. However, it is unclear how far down Musk is on the waiting list for a seat.
Virgin Galactic plans to start commercial flight into suborbital space from next year. It is selling the tickets for upwards of $25,000 per seat. Passengers on the aircraft will get to experience three minutes of weightlessness in microgravity as they reach suborbital space. Around 600 such tickets have been bought so far.
During the planned flight, the WhiteKnight aircraft - VMS Eve - will carry the rocket-powered spaceship - VSS Unity - from a horizontal runway to an altitude of 50,000 feet (Approx 15 km). The VSS Unity will then detach from the WhiiteKnight aircraft and begin its ascend. VSS Unity will acquire a speed of March 3 as it ascends to a height of 80 kilometres above the surface of the earth. Here the passengers will experience weightlessness.
Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos is also planning to head into space on July 20 onboard his Blue Origin flight. The New Shepard spacecraft is expected to fly to nearly 1000 kilometres above the surface of the earth, where space begins.
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