Competition intensifies in the space tourism market

In the space tourism market is expected a serious competitive struggle. In addition to the famous firm Virgin Galactic with the SpaceShipTwo aircraft, tourists will be put into orbit by the vertical take-off Dream Chaser ships and rocket engines. Instead of 2.5 hours, they enter the stratosphere in 15 minutes with the same ticket price of $ 200 thousand.

The founder of the new travel agency Benson Space - Jim Benson. He said that by 2015 he plans to bring the level of annual income to $ 200 million, that is, he will send three tourists a day into orbit. According to Jim Benson, his rival Richard Branson with his SpaceShip can safely leave the business, because here he does not shine. Although Benson is not as rich and famous as a competitor, he has already sent products to space: he was the main shareholder of SpaceDev, which produced parts for NASA's rovers and for the revolutionary SpaceShipOne.

According to government experts, by 2021, 15,000 passengers will be sent to orbit annually, which will bring travel agencies $ 700 million a year. Naturally, this market attracts the attention of businessmen.

The company Virgin Galactic is currently building the first five copies of SpaceShipTwo and has planned test flights for 2008, and commercial launches will begin in 2009. Two hundred future passengers have already paid for the tickets and are waiting for their turn into space.
')
Competitors from Benson Space say that their shuttles will reduce the cost of tickets to $ 50 thousand in just five years. Such a ship with six rocket engines SpaceDev will be able to deliver tourists into space in just 15 minutes. Virgin Galactic engineers say they will have to pay the risk of life for a low price, because the acceleration of the rocket and the separation of the stages are not a well-controlled process. However, for the pleasure of looking at the globe, thousands of people will certainly be ready to pay, even at the risk of their lives.

via Business 2.0