Page 23 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - September 2021

Sir Richard Branson Reaches Space 23

Richard Branson Reaches

Space on Virgin Galactic’s

VSS Unity

Continued from Page 22

Before climbing aboard, Branson, who has kite-
surfed the English Channel and attempted to
circle the world in a hot-air balloon, signed the
astronaut log book and wisecracked: "The
name's Branson. Sir Richard Branson. Astronaut
Double-oh-one. License to thrill."

Upon his return to Earth, he announced a
sweepstakes drawing for two seats on a Virgin
Galactic jaunt once tourist flights begin.
Branson will become the first of three This year's space race is much different than the
Virgin Galactic already has more than 600 billionaires to get into space if the launch from race to the moon in the 1960s. The modern race
reservations from would-be space tourists, with New Mexico is successful. is defined primarily by competition and dreams
tickets initially costing $250,000 US apiece. to commercialize space flight, said Sara
Blue Origin is waiting for Bezos's flight before Nine days later, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Mazrouei, a planetary scientist and an
announcing its ticket prices. Blue Origin is planning to launch into space educational developer at Ryerson University in
from Texas, with Tesla founder Elon Musk's Toronto.
Kerianne Flynn, who signed up in 2011 to fly SpaceX launch scheduled for later this year.
with Virgin Galactic, had butterflies ahead of But planetary experts like Mazrouei and
Sunday's launch. It's the beginning of what Kate Howells — Howells said this space race can also bring some
Canadian space policy adviser for the Planetary benefits to Earth.
"I think there's going to be nothing like going up Society, the world's largest non-profit space
there and looking back down on the Earth, organization — says is the next era of space If trips to space become more accessible,
which is what I think I'm most excited about," tourism. research in suborbital space could happen more
she said. She added: "Hopefully the next often — and that could lead to exciting
generations will be able to explore what's up And if trips to space become more affordable discoveries.
there." and more frequent, Howells and others say,
researchers at universities and private "The last space race that we had to get to the
Musk's SpaceX, which is already launching companies could have a quicker way to travel to moon gave us the technology for our running
astronauts to the space station for NASA and space. shoes, for our foam mattresses, for our
building moon and Mars ships, plans to take bulletproof vests," Mazrouei said.
tourists on more than just brief, up-and-down "Previously, the only way for tourists to go to
trips. They will instead go into orbit around the space was to fly to the International Space "I'm really hopeful that once we move beyond
Earth for days, with seats costing well into the Station. And that hasn't happened for many this initial set of billionaires getting to space,
millions. The company's first private flight is set years," she said. there will be room for other experiments and for
for September. more involvement."
"This is taking space tourism to the next level,
Musk himself has not committed to going into opening up a more affordable — still not very Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX all
space any time soon. affordable — but a more affordable way for have calls out on their websites for what is
tourists to go into space." known as payloads, referring to elements on
3 billionaires' dreams of spacecraft dedicated to producing mission data
Ticket prices to get aboard aren't cheap, with and then relaying that data back to Earth,
space tourism are more someone paying $28 million US in an auction according to the European Space Agency.

for a seat on Bezos's first flight to suborbital
than flights of fancy,
space. Boucher said the potential research
planetary experts say opportunities are exciting.
If successful in their launches, Virgin Galactic's
and Blue Origin's crafts will be near or within "We have to understand that there's a lot of
If space travel becomes more the edge of space. The Fédération Aéronautique research that's going on in space right now. A lot
Internationale, the world governing body for air of that is happening on the International Space
affordable, there's a potential for
sports, defines the boundary between Earth's Station, but it's really expensive," he said.
more research atmosphere and outer space as 100 kilometres
above Earth's mean sea level, the so-called "So these flights of opportunities on these new
Kármán Line. suborbital vehicles will offer a much cheaper
But the crafts will have enough height to give cost to do some of this research." []
Stephanie Dubois - CBC
both crews a chance to experience
weightlessness for just a few minutes. More FACT*oids…

It might be several years before most Canadians
"That's the part of the experience that you're 52 million years ago, Antarctica was
can afford a ticket to outer space, but some
paying for," said Marc Boucher, founder and
planetary experts say the upcoming space covered with palm trees.
editor-in-chief of SpaceQ Media Inc., an online
launches led by billionaires could bring a new
Canadian space news company based in Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster has a first
era of space exploration.
London, Ont. name: Sid
On Sunday, Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard
New space race, new research