Virgin Galactic and NASA Will Now Broker Private Joyrides to Space
Virgin Galactic announced it has signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA that will allow the company to coordinate private rides to the International Space Station.
Seats will be open to wealthy space enthusiasts as well as scientific and government researchers.
Virgin Galactic will be responsible for identifying key customers, training them, and organizing their rides in to space.
Virgin Galactic has signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA to train and send private citizens to the International Space Station (ISS). Richard Branson's space tourism company announced the new partnership in a Twitter thread and statement on its website.
A thread: today we’re announcing a Space Act Agreement with @NASA for Private Orbital Spaceflight to the @Space_Station. Under this agreement, we will develop a new private orbital astronaut readiness program. https://t.co/23W2OLv8Nb pic.twitter.com/MmdDsRj9nQ
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) June 22, 2020
“We are excited to partner with NASA on this private orbital spaceflight program, which will not only allow us to use our spaceflight platform, but also offer our space training infrastructure to NASA and other agencies,” George Whitesides, chief executive of Virgin Galactic, said in a statement. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine teased the partnership via Twitter on Friday.
BREAKING: @NASA is developing the process to fly astronauts on commercial suborbital spacecraft. Whether it’s suborbital, orbital, or deep space, NASA will utilize our nation’s innovative commercial capabilities. RFI will be released next week. pic.twitter.com/MOvRMywZAK
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) June 19, 2020
According to the contract, Virgin Galactic will be in charge of identifying and selecting potential clients, training them for spaceflight, and then coordinating a ride to the ISS—most likely on either SpaceX or Boeing vehicles.
“Under the agreement, NASA will conduct an assessment of the feasibility of Virgin Galactic’s plan to develop a new private orbital astronaut readiness program to enable private astronaut missions to the International Space Station,” a NASA spokesperson told The Verge. “Virgin Galactic’s plans to develop a new private orbital astronaut readiness program directly support NASA’s broad strategy to facilitate the commercialization of low-Earth orbit by U.S. entities.”
Virgin Galactic has been developing its private space tourism business for over a decade. In 2018, the company sent its first private astronauts to the edge of space aboard its suborbital SpaceShipTwo flight system. (Last year, it brought its first passenger to space.)
The company is developing a small fleet of SpaceShipTwo vehicles—in addition to the current VSS Unity spaceplane—which it will use to train future passengers, giving them a taste of the G-forces associated felt during launch and the weightlessness of microgravity before their official journey to the ISS.
Virgin Galactic will hold some part of the trainings at its Spaceport America in New Mexico. The company hasn't yet released when the first flights will begin, or how much they will cost. (Our educated guess? A lot.)
There has been a big push in recent years to democratize space, opening the cosmos up not just to scientific and government agencies, but commercial ventures, too. Last year, NASA announced an initiative to make the ISS available to commercial spacecraft.
Earlier this year, the company Axiom Space announced it would send passengers to the ISS in 2021. (Bridenstine also let it slip that Axiom Space will be coordinating Tom Cruise's ride to the ISS.) Another space tourism company, Space Adventures, has also pledged to organize private trips to space.
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