Virgin Galactic offers visitors a glimpse of world’s first working commercial spaceport
Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company owned by billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson, announced the start of operations at the world’s first commercial spaceport, giving select visitors a first look at the site.
The company said the first spaceport, in New Mexico in the United States, was “operationally functional and able to support Virgin Galactic’s flight requirements”.
It said it would be transferring all of its space flight operations to the facility on Thursday.
Virgin Galactic said it had chosen “an elegant, experience-focused concept for the space launch system itself”.
“It was also specifically designed to enable Virgin Galactic to create an unparalleled experience as its customers prepare for journeys of a lifetime before graduating as astronauts,” it said.
The custom space flight headquarters includes a mission control centre as well as a preparation area for pilots and a lounge for passengers, friends and family.
Two giant sliding doors hide enough space in the Spaceport America hangar to hold a fleet of rockets and two of Virgin’s carrier planes.
The planes are capable of carrying six passengers each.
The opening of the spaceport is the result of 15 years of work.
According to the Associated Press, the plan for the Virgin Galactic headquarters was first proposed by Mr Branson and the former Democratic governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson.
But delays and cost overruns affected construction.
At the same time, obstacles to Virgin Galactic’s spaceship development, including the crash of an experimental craft in 2014 that killed a test pilot, hampered the project.
Commercial flights will not start at the spaceport until test flights are complete.
About 600 people have reserved seats for the first trips on board Virgin’s space flights.
Tickets for a journey on the winged rocket ships to the boundary of space cost $250,000 (Dh 918,245).
Tickets for a journey on the winged rocket ships to the edge of space cost $250,000