A jump in the development of the space tourism industry: for the first time, a private spacecraft, known as the "White Knight", will be launched tomorrow and will cruise for 3 minutes at an altitude of 100 km
Alex Doron
At a small airport in the American desert, tomorrow a small group of people will try to make history: the first spacecraft built by a private entity, and not by a government space agency, will be launched into space. If the experiment is successful, it will be a real leap in the development of the space tourism industry.
An American company called Scaled Composites built a space vehicle called SpaceShipOne, which was nicknamed the "White Knight."
If the spacecraft succeeds in entering outer space at a height of 100 kilometers above the Earth, those responsible for the ambitious project will receive a reward of 10 million dollars. The spacecraft is supposed to carry 3 people into space, and repeat the operation within 14 days.
The "white knight" will take off while attached to the belly of a large plane. When the manned spacecraft reaches a height of 16
A kilometer above the earth, it will detach from the plane, and a special rocket engine will launch it to an altitude of 100 kilometers. The spacecraft will stay in outer space for 3 minutes, and will be returned to the ground.
If the operation is successful, it will be a significant step towards an era where tourism agencies have sold vacation packages to space - at least for the rich. The cost of a launch like the one that will be done tomorrow is 100 thousand dollars.
According to a test conducted by the monthly "Scientific American", 100 thousand Americans and Canadians were willing to pay 100 thousand dollars for the opportunity to fly into space. The space tourism market is expected to generate about 700 million dollars a year in the future, and according to estimates, as early as 2021, 15 such flights will be made annually.
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