Virgin Galactic is one step closer to carrying out its mission of commercial space travel in 2022 with the unveiling of the VSS Imagine, the first in its Spaceship III class.
The reflective material used for the exterior of the ship, initially designed as part of its thermal protection system, mirrors its surroundings, an engineering requirement that then became a design choice.
"A lot of the design and the innovation happens under the hood for us," Michael Colglazier, Virgin Galactic CEO, told Cheddar.
"The big place that really matters is we can now find ways to maintain and have the ship fly more quickly than we were able to do before, and that's really, really critical because we want to fly these lots of times every year and bring a lot of people up to space."
The company has set some early goals to launch 400 flights a year from each of the world's 28 spaceports. Potential astronauts can expect to pay a hefty price tag for the inaugural flights, which will exceed $250,000 which was initially announced by the company.
Colglazier said as the company ramps up commercial space travel and the trips become more regular, those aspiring to travel to space can expect more affordable prices, noting that as with many young industries prices tend to start high before curving downward.
"Virgin Galactic is focused on human spaceflight, and what I'm most looking forward to is this becoming normalized. I think most of us look at this and not long ago would've said 'Well that's never going to happen in my lifetime,' and yet here we are today and it is happening," he noted.
Training for the space flights would be expected to take place over the course of five days with flights lasting just 90 minutes. Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic's founder, is scheduled to take a test flight later this year as part of the pitch to get people on board.
Tesla reported a surprise increase in sales in the third quarter as the electric car maker likely benefited from a rush by consumers to take advantage of a $7,500 credit before it expired on Sept. 30. The company reported Thursday that sales in the three months through September rose 7% compared to the same period a year ago. The gain follows two quarters of steep declines as people turned off by CEO Elon Musk’s foray into right-wing politics avoided buying his company’s cars and even protested at some dealerships. Sales rose to 497,099 vehicles, compared with 462,890 in the same period last year.
Tom’s Guide Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer breaks down Apple & Amazon's latest product drops—what's hot, what's hype, and what really matters for users.
InnerPlant CEO Shely Aronov reveals how engineered crops like soybeans and corn emit signals when stressed—offering farmers early warnings to boost yields.
Payoneer CEO John Caplan discusses the implications of $100K H1B visa requirements—and how they could reshape tech talent, hiring, and U.S. competitiveness.
Electronic Arts, the video game maker of “Madden NFL,” “The Sims,” and other popular titles, is being acquired and taken private for about $52.5 billion in what could become the largest-ever buyout funded by private-equity firms.
