Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo went down Friday afternoon, killing at least one while highlighting safety concerns that Richard Branson said could kill the space tourism industry.
Investors see private space travel as the market of the future. According to the Space Angels Network, an organization created to connect investors with entrepreneurs in the private space travel business, in 2012 the global space economy was valued at over $300 billion. The network says it is expected to grow to $600 billion by 2030.
On Tuesday, an unmanned rocket manufactured by Orbital Sciences, a Virginia company NASA has contracted to resupply the space station, exploded during its launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. This engine used in the flight, the Antares 130, is powered by old Soviet engines.
For years, Richard Branson, who owns a part of Virgin Galactic, has touted the bright future of space tourism. In February, he said that he and his children would be on the first space tourism flight.
Everybody who signs up knows this is the birth of a new space program and understands the risks that go with that," Branson said in an interview for Weekend magazine. "But every person wants to go on the first flight."
He even alluded to the fact that accidents could kill the industry. Right now, tickets to space cost a minimum $250,000 each.
“Space is hard, and today was a tough day,” said George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic, at a press conference. “We believe we owe to the folks who were flying these vehicles to understand this and to move forward, which is what we’ll do.”
Source : The Independent
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