Blue Origin to increase space tourism flights this year; SpaceX, Virgin Galactic on similar course – India Today

After three successful human suborbital flights in 2021, Blue Origin is set to boost its launches in 2022. The company hinted that it will look to double the number of people it flew into space last year.

14 humans had brief suborbital flights on Blue Origins New Shepard spacecraft last year. In a presentation at the 24th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference, Blue Origin said that it saw robust demand for suborbital flights.

The market is robust. Its very robust. The challenge for Blue at this point is that were actually supply-limited. No business ever wants to be supply-limited when theres robust demand. Its incumbent on us to go build new vehicles, get them ready and safely go fly, and also safely get our launch cadence up, Bob Smith, chief executive of Blue Origin said.

The Jeff Bezos-founded company has been in direct competition with SpaceX, which has been dominating the private commercial space-travel market with its Falcon-9 and Crew Dragon spacecraft launching not just private citizens but astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

A mural of Jeff Bezos and his brother ahead of their maiden space flight last year. (Photo: Reuters)

Blue Origin in 2021 began its commercial service by launching Jeff Bezos on a nearly 10-minute-long flight to space onboard the New Shepard spacecraft. In a bid to increase the number of flights, the company is also looking at introducing a new vehicle to launch more frequently than before.

According to SpaceNews, the company expects to bring in the new vehicle this year and quoted Smith as saying, Thats the one that we have to be thoughtful about because thats the place where spaceflight has gotten into trouble, he said. Weve spent a lot of time thinking through how methodically, to check out a reusable launch system.

Yes, there has been a demand for commercial travel, which at the moment is reserved for the millionaires and billionaires of the world. While Blue Origin has sold a flight to a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur in the latter half of 2022, SpaceX recently announced plans to launch private astronauts on a five-day mission to space.

SpaceX' Polaris Dawn mission will see four astronauts launch into space on a five-day trip to conduct scientific studies onboard Crew Dragon spacecraft. (Photo: SpaceX)

Lin had won the auction conducted by Blue Origin last year for a seat on the first crewed flight. However, he could not go at the time after winning the auction for his $28 million bid. Since then, several executives, celebrities, entrepreneurs have flown on New Shepard rockets enjoying the brief moments of zero gravity while looking at the planet from outside.

Virgin Galactic, another private spaceflight service led by Richard Branson, is also looking to ramp up flights to space this year. Company officials have said that they remain on schedule to begin commercial human suborbital missions before the end of the year. Virgin Galactic flew Branson and others on the first flight last year.

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Blue Origin to increase space tourism flights this year; SpaceX, Virgin Galactic on similar course - India Today