Virgin Galactic shows the interior of the passenger spacecraft cabin

Passengers flying Virgin Galactic on suborbital trips to space will be seen floating weightlessly against the Earth’s backdrop as 16 cameras document the adventures, the company said Tuesday.

Highly detailed amenities to enhance the customer’s flight experience were showcased at an online event that reveals the cockpit of the company’s rocket plane, a guy named SpaceShipTwo, who is undergoing tests in preparation for commercial service.

There are a dozen windows to see, seats that will be customized for the six passengers on each flight and capable of adjusting to G-forces and naturally ambient lighting.

However, designer Jeremy Brown said the most lasting impression of the passengers may come from a large mirror in the back of the cabin.

“We believe there is a real memory burn that customers will have when they see that analog reflection of themselves in the back of the cabin, seeing themselves floating freely in space … that very personal interaction that they will have with the experience. “, said.

Virgin Galactic was founded by British billionaire Richard Branson after the award-winning experimental SpaceShipOne flights in 2004. Branson plans to be the first passenger when commercial flights begin.

Like its predecessor, SpaceShipTwo is a rocket plane that launches under a special jet plane and is released at high altitude.

After a moment of free fall, the two pilots fire the rocket and the ship launches and accelerates vertically at supersonic speed.

The rocket dies out, but the momentum takes the spacecraft to the lowest reaches of space, where it flips so that the windows on the roof of the cabin give a view of Earth far below.

Passengers, dressed in space suits designed by the Under Armor company, will be able to leave their seats and float around the cabin, using handholds tested by astronaut head coach Beth Moses during Virgin Galactic’s second flight into space last year.

The goal of the test was to help finalize the design and learn to train passenger astronauts for what they will experience as they lose weight and reach the top of the flight profile, known as their heyday, before descent begins. .

Moses said he tried different ways to get in and out of the seats, he moved around the cabin and greeted the mirror, concluding that it was not disorienting.

“I also deliberately went to a point in the cockpit to try more dramatically to enjoy a heyday and a view of Earth from the stillness of space,” he said.

Passengers will be required to return to their seats after a few minutes as the spacecraft reorients and begins to interact with the increasing density of the atmosphere and then glide toward a non-powered landing.

SpaceShipTwo was developed at Virgin Galactic’s facility in Mojave, California, and will operate commercially from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico, where passengers will receive several days of training prior to their flights.

George Whitesides, the longtime former CEO of the company who is now its chief space officer, said the upcoming test flights will include four crew members who will play the role of passengers.

Whitesides, who will now focus on future technology, recently handed the CEO position to Michael Colglazier, former president and managing director of Disney Parks International.

The company has yet to set a date for flights with paying passengers.

The company has said that more than 600 people have deposited deposits. Initial seats sold for $ 250,000 each. Whitesides said the cost may go up for a while, but the long-term goal is to make the adventure more accessible, possibly at a lower cost.

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