Virgin Galactic’s Comeback in Space Race after Hiatus of 16 Months

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson announced his spaceflight company’s comeback in space race. In a statement on Thursday, the business magnate said that Virgin Galactic is eager and all set to rejoin race to send humans and spacecraft into space.

The announcement by Branson has come about 16 months after a deadly accident, which killed a pilot aboard a crewed spacecraft. “To have three or four people who are fairly entrepreneurial competing with each other means we’ll be able to open up space at a fraction of the price that governments have been able to do so in the past”, Branson said.

Virgin Galactic has planned to reveal its new crew-carrying spacecraft SpaceShipTwo. The six-passenger space vehicle will be a two-pilot winged plane designed to take humans on a thrilling space hop. During the five-minute voyage into space, passengers will reach to an altitude of about 100 kilometers.

The Las Cruces, New Mexico, headquartered company revealed that it has planned to design its space launchers. The passenger vehicle and LauncherOne will also be built by Virgin Galactic, said the company officials.

With the comeback, the company will rejoin the race among rivals private aerospace companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. Branson's venture has been out of the race since its spacecraft destroyed in October 2014 during a test flight.

After investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the spacecraft co-pilot released locks which in turn pin the ship’s rotating tail section into place. Now, the company has planned to design a pin that stops pilots from unlocking the tail too early.

Virgin Galactic is offering space rides on SpaceShipTwo for about $250,000. So far, about 700 space enthusiasts have signed up for the voyage.