After a disappointing start to the new decade, during which the global travel industry has been brought to its knees by the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s no wonder more and more people are setting their sights on the stars. Once deemed the final frontier, it seems today that space might in fact be the last resort for travellers hoping to enjoy a far-flung holiday in the near future. Thankfully, several space travel pioneers are making giant leaps in the pursuit of turning extra-terrestrial travel dreams into reality.
The much-hyped Virgin Galactic recently unveiled the sleek new interiors of VSS Unity, the passenger spacecraft also known as SpaceshipTwo, that will soon transport travellers up to the edge of space and back on scenic 90-minute flights. Created in partnership with UK design agency Seymourpowell, VSS Unity’s cabin features 12 reclining passenger seats designed to provide maximum comfort while enduring the extreme G-forces of take-off. Aluminium and carbon-fibre frames are covered with engineered foam, technical fabrics and 3D knits designed by high-performance sportswear brand Under Armour, which also created the spacesuits passengers will wear on board; all finished in a stylish blue, teal and space-grey combo.
Seatback screens provide real time flight data, while integrated communications systems allow passengers to talk to the pilots during the flight. Overhead, the cabin roof is lined with 12 windows with LED-lit halo surrounds, allowing passengers to peer back down at Earth during the mid-flight weightlessness experience, and 16 HD cameras will capture photos and video footage of the entire flight, so passengers have a digital record of their journey.
To date, some 600 people have signed up to fly aboard SpaceshipTwo from the Foster + Partners-designed Spaceport America in New Mexico, following several days of training. It is still unclear when passenger flights will commence, but in the meantime, you can explore the cabin interior via the AR-enabled Virgin Galactic app.
At present, rival firms SpaceX and Blue Origin both offer commercial and research flights into Earth’s orbit and the International Space Station (ISS) but both are also developing the capacity to carry paying passengers into space. SpaceX has recently teamed up with Space Adventures, the world’s first space travel agency, to offer a flight for four passengers into low-Earth orbit aboard its SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, designed to transport NASA astronauts and other professionals to the ISS. Passengers will launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida and fly higher into orbit than any private citizen has before. The company remains tight-lipped about how much the journey will cost, but the entire mission will take up to five days, including training in the US.
Space Adventures has already sent seven private non-professional astronauts into space between 2001 and 2009 and continues to partner with commercial missions to fill empty seats aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft bound for the ISS. Earlier this year, the company offered two places aboard a scheduled 14-day trip to the ISS in 2021, during which one of the deep-pocketed customers will have the opportunity to take a spacewalk outside the station, and in doing so, become the first ever non-professional astronaut to walk in space.
