Virgin Galactic announced Tuesday that ticket sales to go to space will open to the public on Wednesday. The company will require a $150,000 deposit.
The space tourism company’s ticket prices start at $450,000, with three different sales offerings — a single seat purchase, packaged seats for couples, friends or family, or an entire flight. Out of the costly deposit, $25,000 is nonrefundable, according to CNBC News.
“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,” said Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier.
According to The Verge, even though the ticket sales are opening soon, it may be a while before anyone gets a chance to fly.
- In July 2021, the company reached a major milestone by launching billionaire Richard Branson into space.
- Two months later, before the launch of a follow-up flight with three Italian Air Force members, Virgin Galatic found a manufacturing defect and said it would not resume commercial flying until the end of 2022, per Forbes.
- There is already a backlog of 600 reservations for future flights which cost $250,000 during the initial round of ticketing. Last August, it sold 100 more tickets that cost $450,000 apiece, per Space.com.
Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said that the company plans “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.”