Richard Branson has become the first billionaire to ride his own rocket into space, successfully heading to the edge of the great beyond and back over the weekend. Unlike Bezos and Musk’s efforts, Virgin Galactic is intended to function primarily as a tourism company but, as with Jurassic Park (assuming it were real), travelling off this planet isn’t going to be cheap.
We just need our space right now
By which we mean, the odds of the average person affording a trip on one of Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered SpaceShip craft are low. Unless you have R3.6 million lying around doing nothing (tickets sold so far have each cost $250,000), you’re probably spending your entire life on good old planet Earth. Unless…
Look, you’ve all seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, you know how this worlds. Virgin Galactic is giving away two seats to one very lucky pair on “one of the first commercial flights” set to take off some time in 2022. But unlike most giveaways, this one’s really quite inclusive. In addition to some time in weightlessness, you’ll also be a) flown to Spaceport America in New Mexico but b) your hotel will be covered and c) Richard Branson will show you around the facility himself.
Entry is completely free, but you can improve your chances of being selected (and you’d best believe you’re up against a whole lot of competition) by donating to Space for Humanity, a charity dedicated to making flight (close) to the stars more accessible. Entries are now open and you’ve got until 1 September 2021 to get your name on the list. The winner will be announced on 29 September 2021, and then the flight will take off… next year, sometime. What are you waiting for? Go. Now.
