President Of Space Tourism Pioneer Speaks At OSH
Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic, in a press forum
shared with Burt Rutan, Brian Binnie and Mike Melvill, had a lot to
say at AirVenture. Buried deep in his extemporaneous presentation
were some possible hints at what will be revealed in the days and
week ahead.
Most intruiging was a hint that Virgin Galactic hopes to fly as
soon as three years from now. Whitehorn wouldn't be pinned down on
the schedule -- yet -- but it would seem to confirm rumors that Sir
Richard Branson is seeking a very aggressive flight test and
in-service schedule for the craft they're still calling
SpaceShipTwo.
One more bit of potential corroboration is Mike Melvill's
comments about his involvement in the project. Aero-News asked him
what his role would be, and he replied that he would like to be
involved in developmental flight test on the project, but he
wouldn't be involved "in commercial flights," he said. "I'll be 65,
I'll be too old." He is currently 63.
This is a pretty thin factual basis upon which to hang
speculation about Virgin Galactic's flight schedule, but it's what
we've got at this time.
Burt Rutan had indicated that he had market research figures
indicating that about 110,000 people would fly in space in the
first ten years. "If those numbers are right, our business plan
indicates that we'll have about a third of the market."
Ah, but what's it going to cost? If you have to ask, you might
not be the right candidate. Initially it's going to be "very
expensive," said Whitehorn. But in time, given economies of scale
that might operate similarly to the early years of the airline or
air charter businesses, it might come down -- to $50,000. "That's
the price of a cruise, and for that, we're offering a really unique
experience." (A cruise costs $50k? Who knew?)
Given the very high projected cost of commercial space flight in
its early years, the people coming on board early tend to be those
with a lot of money and a reputation for conspicuous consumption.
In response to a question about celebrities who had signed up for
flights, Whitehorn said that a dozen household names from Hollywood
alone --actors, directors, and producers -- had signed up for the
flights, along with many other famous people. "And famous people
from the world of aviation," he said, indicating that those names
would be released later.
One name he did mention was actress Victoria Principal. He also
promised that more names -- and much more information -- would be
released over the next three days.
Some tickets will be released to organizations. For example, the
National Space Society will be receiving one ticket per year. It's
up to them what they do with it: they can award it on merit, or
have a contest, or raffle it off.
Whitehorn also stressed that VG was in the extreme adventure
sports market, and was not, repeat not, an airline. But certainly,
Virgin Group encompasses (among other businesses) three airlines;
and the Virgin Galactic suborbital adventure may also serve as a
proof of concept for spacefaring travel.
A suborbital, ballistic trajectory could make the planet even
smaller. "It may be a while, but it has the potential for the New
York or London to Tokyo in two and half hours that people have been
talking about," he said.