Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Virgin Galactic said it will start selling tickets to the general public Wednesday for trips to space beginning later in 2022 at $450,000 a pop.
The private space travel company said for nearly a half-million dollars, customers will spend about 90 minutes climbing to the edge of space, experience several minutes of weightlessness as they leave their seats and return to Earth to talk about the experience.
"At Virgin Galactic, we believe that space is transformational," Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in a statement. "We plan to have our first 1,000 customers on board at the start of commercial service later this year, providing an incredibly strong foundation as we begin regular operations and scale our fleet."
To save a seat on the spaceship, Virgin Galactic requires a $150,000 deposit. The flight will launch from the company's Spaceport America near Las Cruces, N.M.
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"We have developed a compelling and effective sales process to support the growth of our commercial business," Blair Rich, president and chief business officer of Virgin Galactic said in a statement.
"A global, commercial spaceline demands an iconic and timeless brand. It is important that our brand represents our dynamic customer offering, and speaks to our unique experience, style and service."
Virgin Galactic is bidding to become the first company to send customers into space on a regular basis. The company successfully launched its founder Richard Branson to the edge of space last year in one of its test runs.
Getting to space on Virgin Galactic will be a two-step process. The White Knight Two, would lift off with a plane and soar up to 49,000 feet. Then it will release a plane that will complete the flight into space more than 50 miles above Earth.
On return, the pilots will shift the plane's wings and it will land on a runway much like a regular airplane.
Virgin Galactic has been in a race with Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin to establish routine commercial space travel.
