It turns out that Virgin Galactic may be on track to fly customers to the edge of space this year. Richard Branson has announced that Virgin Galactic, the near-space travel venture, will launch its first flight in 2014.
Virgin Galactic has been working on testing and honing its new aircraft. Just last month, its SpaceShipTwo craft completed its third suborbital test flight in California, according to Upi.com. Yet a launch date for the actual venture has been delayed. Now, it seems as if Virgin Galactic is stepping back up. In Abu Dhabi, Branson insisted that the first commercial trip to the edges of space would occur in 2014.
Virgin Galactic's ultimate mission isn't to just ferry people to near-space, though. Branson wants to eventually ferry customers between cities at near-orbital speeds. If successful, it's possible that travel times could be cut down drastically. That said, this type of point-to-point travel is probably at least 12 years away, according to SF Gate.
"Our current primary focus is to complete the SpaceShipTwo development program and start a full commercial service later this year from its home at Spaceport America in New Mexico," said Stephen Attenborough, Virgin Galactic's commercial director, in an interview with Upi.com. "Once that is established, we may seek the necessary U.S. export approvals to operate from locations outside the U.S. with Abu Dhabi as a likely first overseas base, should those approvals be forthcoming."
That doesn't mean that Virgin Galactic hasn't had its fair share of hiccups along the way. The recently-published "Branson Behind the Mask" has stated that Virgin Galactic still faces hurdles, such as significant safety concerns and earning regulatory approvals from agencies like the FAA. If all goes to plan, though, it's likely that we may just see the first few commercial trips to space later on this year.
