Poging GOUD - Vrij
A TICKET TO SPACE
The Straits Times
|March 01, 2025
US$600,000 each, space tourists can enjoy weightlessness and sweeping views of Earth on a Virgin Galactic spaceship. The Straits Times gets an exclusive look at their pre-flight experience in New Mexico
NEW MEXICO - Would you pay US$600,000 (S$810,000) to ride on a spaceship and experience three minutes of weightlessness? For about 700 people — two of them based in Singapore — the answer to that question is a resounding "yes", and each has put down a hefty deposit for a spot on the "future astronaut" waiting list at Virgin Galactic, British billionaire Richard Branson's space tourism company.
The flight to and from space lasts about two hours, just three to five minutes of which is spent floating almost 90km above the surface of the Earth.
The Virgin Galactic carrier aircraft, or "mothership", takes off with the smaller spaceship tucked beneath it and ascends to an altitude of about 15km. The spaceship is then released, igniting its rocket motor and accelerating to three times the speed of sound until it reaches the edge of space.
When the craft reaches its maximum altitude of about 88km, passengers unclasp from their seats and experience microgravity — and an unparalleled view of the Earth — before the ship glides back to the ground.
While the experience is fleeting, the company spends months preparing customers for what is often the fulfilment of a childhood dream.
They are also initiated into a hyper-exclusive community of future and former astronauts, who are all invited to holiday on Necker Island, Mr Branson's private Caribbean getaway.
So far, only 23 people have flown as paying customers on the seven commercial flights Virgin Galactic has operated since 2023, but the company is scaling up, building a new class of spaceships and increasing flights so it can eventually fly thousands of people annually.
But why do this at all?
Those who have been to space, even briefly, universally describe it as a thrilling yet profound experience that forever alters how they see the world.
Dit verhaal komt uit de March 01, 2025-editie van The Straits Times.
Abonneer u op Magzter GOLD voor toegang tot duizenden zorgvuldig samengestelde premiumverhalen en meer dan 9000 tijdschriften en kranten.
Bent u al abonnee? Aanmelden
MEER VERHALEN VAN The Straits Times
The Straits Times
KEEP AN EYE ON PATCH OF COSMO
RACE 11 (1,800M) 4 Patch Of Cosmo comes off an encouraging Derby fourth, making late ground after being eighth at the 400m and closing off well.
1 min
April 19, 2026
The Straits Times
WHO WILL DECIDE?
State recognition offers cold comfort when market forces may still have the final say
9 mins
April 19, 2026
The Straits Times
The day we took away the blue bins
Would removing all recycling bins in the neighbourhood build better habits?
6 mins
April 19, 2026
The Straits Times
After daughter buys pre-school, mum and child take early childhood diploma together
When Ms Poh Ying Xia, 38, learnt that her son's preschool was shutting down in 2022, she decided to buy it to keep it open, together with another school parent.
3 mins
April 19, 2026
The Straits Times
Can Singapore have a dedicated writers' room to peek into the lives of literary legends?
Midway up 14 flights of stairs to an independent bookstore in Hong Kong - the lift at the vertical arts enclave in Foo Tak Building had broken down again - I happened upon The Xi Xi Space, a cramped unit on the seventh floor dedicated to a writer I've encountered only through a few poems but knew little about.
2 mins
April 19, 2026
The Straits Times
Amitav Ghosh links climate change to reincarnation
The author of Ghost-Eye proposes that climate movements need the supernatural as much as science
4 mins
April 19, 2026
The Straits Times
I don't mind being put out of a job if that means nobody dies on our roads: Traffic cop
When Traffic Police (TP) Inspector Mohamed Yazid Mohamed Yusoff arrived at the scene of a road accident in Tampines in 2020, his heart sank.
3 mins
April 19, 2026
The Straits Times
ROCK ‘N’ THE JAM TURNS UP IN S'PORE POOLS TROPHY
Trainer Alderson’s in-form Jigsaw notches up seventh straight win in The Quokka at Ascot
4 mins
April 19, 2026
The Straits Times
Riau student dies after 3D-printed rifle exploded during testing
Police in Siak regency, Riau, have named a female teacher at Sains Tahfiz Islamic Center junior high school as a suspect of negligence in a case of a student who died while testing a 3D-printed rifle for a science project.
2 mins
April 19, 2026
The Straits Times
29,000 HDB households to benefit from neighbourhood upgrading
New features aim to help greying population here live comfortably in their communities
3 mins
April 19, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size
