The new space race is getting excited in multiple different ways. It’s not just a race to shoot the first commercial film in space, it’s a real competition to see if the billionaires of a private space company will take first place. Jeff Bezos, owner of Blue Origin and the world’s second richest man, has announced that he will make his first crew trip to Blue Origin’s space on July 20 this year, with Virgin Galactic owner Richard Branson dropping his hat on the ring.
First reported by Douglas Messier for Parabolic Arc, Virgin Galactic is planning a sorbet flight for his organization on behalf of his organization by boarding its VSS Unity spaceship rocket at the end of July 4 – two weeks before Bezos’ scheduled flight. Bezos will be accompanied by his brother and the winner of an unfinished auction (current BD amount of $3.8 million), the New Shepard suborbital rocket will fly on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
According to Messier, Virgin Galactic, after announcing Blue Origin’s first crew aircraft on May 5 and announcing a one-seat auction, plans to send their leader into space, with all proceeds going to future clubs, a mission to inspire future generations to follow Stem’s career. Branson even congratulated Bezos on his news, possibly a little annoying himself.
Virgin Galactic has some hoops that need to be jumped first, and although they have now issued a vague statement, it does not deny the plan. First, Virgin will need to obtain a commercial reusable spacecraft operator’s license from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) because the company currently holds licenses for aircraft crews, not just aircraft.
A statement from Virgin Galactic said it was currently analyzing data from its first successful trip to space in May and further test flights were planned without confirming its date. However, there is a good chance that you can get this license before the weekend of July 4th. After that, VSS Unity and its mothership spaceship must be ready for two aircraft. VSS Unity has so far made three flights and reached the suburbs only once.
