A manned spacecraft from Virgin Galactic has reached space, bringing private space tourism one step closer. „SpaceShipTwo“ hit 83 miles yesterday on the test flight, so high that the two pilots felt weightlessness and could see the curvature of the earth. Virgin boss Richard Branson announced after the safe landing of the spacecraft further flights in the coming months.Different demarcations
The height of 83 kilometers is above the threshold of 50 miles, which is considered by the US military and space agency NASA as the limit to space. The two pilots are allowed to call themselves according to the specifications of the US Air Traffic Control FAA astronauts.
On the other hand, 100 kilometers are regarded as a border internationally. From the private space companies she has reached a „New Shepard“ rocket of the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos so far, however, in an unmanned flight.
700 people have already paid
Like SpaceX by Tesla founder Elon Musk, Branson and Bezos are part of a series of companies vying to be the first paying passengers to fly into space. But critics accuse Branson of failing to live up to its promises in recent years.
So far, nearly 700 people have made money for a flight in a Virgin spacecraft, including the actor Leonardo DiCaprio and the singer Justin Bieber. A 90-minute flight is said to cost $ 250,000.
