HONG KONG, Sept 9 — Hong Kong-based luxury travel agent Intriq Journey was recently appointed Virgin Galactic’s regional agent, and with it comes a once-in-a-lifetime experience open to Asians. For a mere US$600,000 (RM2.6 million) you can boldly go where few have gone before — a journey into space and back that lasts around three hours.
But hold your horses — even if you have the spare change, Virgin Galactic accepts only referrals. “We’re not open to the public in the sense of selling tickets, since we only have a limited number of space flights,” said Virgin Galactic vice-president and general manager of customer operations James Willoughby. “Broadly speaking, we are taking referrals.
Each referral that comes to us, we see that individual as adding to the community.” Currently, there are about 800 people on Virgin Galactic’s passenger waiting list, reported South China Morning Post . They range in age from seven to 89, from more than 60 nationalities.
If Virgin Galactic's prices seem a little hefty — note that Elon Musk's SpaceX charged three wealthy patrons US$55 million (RM240 million) each for a week’s stay at the International Space Station in 2022. As for Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, free tickets to celebrities like William Shatner aside — he reportedly charged others US$28 million (RM122 million) for a front-row seat to space. Your ‘budget’ option to space would be a US firm Space Perspective which takes passengers on a six-hour journey to the stratosphere in a balloon-borne pressurised capsule that only costs US$125,000 (RM545,000).
Virgin Galactic's ride from take-off to landing, will offer only half the duration at roughly about three hours long. The experience however includes three days of intensive preparation and training — at Spaceport America in New Mexico where Virgin Galactic space flights have started — before launch, designed to physically and mentally prepare to fly in that cabin. “The first payment is a US$150,000 (RM655,000) deposit, which is made up of a US$50,000 (RM218,000) non-refundable membership fee and a US$100,000 (RM437,000) refundable deposit,” Willoughby says.
“It’s refundable if you get to a stage where life changes for whatever reason and you cannot fly. “As the manifested flight date approaches, we’ll develop your space flight programme, do the final preparation stages, and all the medical evaluations. After the US$450,000 (RM1.
6 million) final payment, at that point you’re fully locked in.” “There are a lot of practical skills and knowledge that we need to teach, but we really want the astronauts to be in a good frame of mind. We want them feeling confident, worry-free,” explains instructor Colin Bennett.
“There are some classroom sessions about the flight profile. We teach you about g-forces on the body. We get you familiar with the flight suit, all the equipment that you need, and how to get in and out of the seat in the spaceship when you’re in microgravity.
We have a life-size replica of the cabin in our training floor.” Your itinerary for launch day will be as such: Take note, being in the Virgin Galactic “community” has its perks including access to events and presentations from a network of space engineers and scientists. Earlier this year in April, members were taken to Texas to witness the solar eclipse, followed by a big Southern barbecue party.
Oh and you'll get special keepsakes, including your own official Virgin Galactic Astronaut Wings, a pin from the Association of Space Explorers, an extensive video and photo package, and your Virgin Galactic branded spacesuit..
