XCOR is a lesser-known suborbital spaceflight
company. Their LYNX spacecraft accepts just one
passenger who flies next to the pilot. Both will
wear pressure suits, which adds to the spaceflight
participant’s experience and safety. The LYNX will
take off conventionally from a runway, like a jet.
It will climb steeply under full thrust to a speed of
nearly Mach 3. After engine shutdown, the LYNX will
coast to an altitude of over 62 miles. The passenger
will experience six minutes of weightlessness and
extraordinary views of the Earth below. The return
to Earth takes about forty-five minutes and this
extends the visual and transformational experience
of spaceflight.
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, started
Blue Origin several years ago to pioneer vertical
takeoff-vertical landing (VTVL) suborbital spaceflight
for commercial passengers. The first test flight of the
New Shepard launch vehicle with its crew capsule
in April 2015 was completely successful. The capsule
achieved an altitude of 57 miles, reentered the
atmosphere and landed softly by parachutes.
When regular passenger flights begin in two years,
the capsule, carrying six spaceflight participants,
will exceed 60 miles in altitude. Bezos promises a
life-changing space travel experience.
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is developing the
world’s first commercial multi-passenger suborbital
spaceplane. SpaceShipTwo will be carried aloft by the
larger jet-powered WhiteKnightTwo to 50,000 feet. The
pressurized passenger
compartment is designed
so spaceflight participants
only have to wear sleek and
comfortable flight suits, not
bulky pressure suits.
SpaceShipTwo will be
released by the carrier craft
and then its rocket engine
will ignite, thrusting the passengers back into their
seats. The spacecraft will accelerate very quickly and
soon exceed the speed of sound as it climbs steeply.
After the engine shuts down, the spacecraft will
continue to climb and gradually slow as it reaches its
suborbital apogee. It will be at least 62 miles above the
Earth and passengers will experience weightlessness.
At this point, they will be permitted to unbuckle
their restraints and float freely about the cabin. They all
will make their way to the observation windows to view
the Earth below and the blackness of space beyond.
After several minutes of weightlessness, gravity will
begin to pull SpaceShipTwo back to Earth, and the
passengers will have to strap themselves back in their
seats. The pilot will initiate reentry, passengers will
experience increased gravity on their bodies, and then
the spacecraft will glide aerodynamically back to the
Spaceport America runway and land. All passengers
will be awarded astronaut’s wings.
PHOTO
Virgin Galactic
suborbital flights
will depart
from Spaceport
America in
New Mexico.
SPACE TRAVEL
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is
developing the world’s first commercial multi-
passenger suborbital spaceplane.
20
THE AFFLUENT TRAVELER
|
Space Travel
