US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — The American company Virgin Galactic, which plans to organize tourist suborbital space flights and launches of small artificial satellites, has signed a contract with NASA to begin training astronauts for flights to the International Space Station.
“We are delighted to partner with NASA in this private commercial space flight orbit program. This will help us to actively use our own platform for space flights, as well as offer launch services to NASA and other agencies, ”said Virgin Galactic CEO George Whiteside.
After this event, Virgin Galactic shares rose almost 16%.
“Based on our own technologies and experience, we can provide unprecedented, personalized access to Earth orbit. We offer these services not only to private space travelers, but are also happy to collaborate with scientists and government organizations [talking about budget organizations like NASA], ”added Whiteside.
Preparing Virgin Galactic for Suborbital Flight
It is not yet clear whether Virgin Galactic will develop its own spacecraft for flights to the ISS or whether it will prefer to use services, for example, SpaceX .
However, they will definitely fly into orbit on their own, as they have a fully operational SpaceShipTwo space plane, which has received a license for passenger transportation.
SpaceShipTwo rises into the air with a carrier aircraft, and then independently soars upward, reaching the boundary of space. In September 2019, company representatives said that anyone can spend 6 hours at an altitude of about 100 kilometers, but you will have to pay $ 250,000 for this happiness.
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