Recently, billionaire and aerospace mogul Richard Branson of Virgin Group, has reiterated his ambition to launch a space plane in short order. Branson’s company Virgin Galactic was established in 2004 and famously hit a roadblock in 2014 when a test flight crashed, killing the aircraft’s pilot.
For the first time in years, Branson has confirmed that Virgin Galactic is on track, and that it’s next test flight could take place as soon as this fall and, if all goes well, the first paying customers could be headed to space by 2018 – at an estimated price per passengers of $250,000.
But the race to space, it appears, is on – as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos also pump money into their own private companies with the same goals in mind. Musk’s SpaceX is said to be also looking towards a 2018 target of flying passengers to the moon, and Bezos says the first space tourism launch from his company, Blue Origin, will also occur shortly. Blue Origin also recently invested in a $200 million Alabama factory to produce rocket engines.
And if anyone else needs some inspiration, Branson recently offered a glimpse into his motivational process, sharing with the media a strange “to do” list he made when he was 22 years old, which he credits as a foundation for his success. Among the items to do? Learn to fly.
For THOMASNET.com, I’m Anna Wells and this is Your Industrial Daily.