Virgin Orbit CEO Richard Branson Claims Human Spaceflight Is Around the Corner

28th Apr 2021
Virgin Orbit CEO Richard Branson Claims Human Spaceflight Is Around the Corner

Virgin Orbit CEO Richard Branson says that human spaceflight is now closer than ever. While celebrating the International Day of Human Spaceflight on 12th April, Branson reiterated his lifelong dream of sending people to space and stated that humanity is on the brink of a new space exploration era.

Virgin Orbit CEO on Human Spaceflight

The first human spaceflight occurred on 12th April 1961, when the USSR sent Yuri Gagarin to orbit the Moon on the Vostok 1 spacecraft. This year has seen the 60th anniversary of the event, and Richard Branson had a few things to say celebrating the matter.

Branson said that ever since Gagarin orbited the Moon and Neil Armstrong set foot on the moons surface, he has been dreaming of sending people to space. Now, Branson believes the age of human spaceflight is actually at our doorstep as more and more commercial astronauts will go to space on a variety of missions.

Virgin Orbit, part of Virgin Galactic, is getting ready for its first commercial human spaceflight in 2022. Anyone with $250,000 (£196,000) can catch a ride on this flight and experience zero gravity with stunning sceneries of our planet.

Still, despite Virgin Orbit’s enthusiasm and its CEO’s lifelong dreams, it seems like SpaceX will still beat them in this race. The aerospace giant has already scheduled its first human spaceflight for this year. The Inspiration4 mission is ready to take four people on a 90-minute journey around the Earth’s orbit. The lucky tourists have already been confirmed and include Billionaire Jared Isaacman, who, as part of the charitable mission, will take a 29-year old cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux and her physician assistant to space.

However, Richard Branson does not seem to have a problem with this and stays optimistic about the future of Virgin Orbit and its scheduled human spaceflight.

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