Virgin Galactic's Journey to Outer Space

Most people don't realize all that the infamous Virgin Group entails. You may have used some of its common services, like the phone network Virgin Mobile, or the airline Virgin Atlantic. But this massive venture capital conglomerate doesn't stop with flights and phones - it controls dozens of companies worldwide, including cruise lines, book publishers, and even wine producers.

Some may also have come to know Virgin primarily through online casinos, where it's also expanded and achieved more visibility in recent years. Migrating to the U.S. from the UK, Virgin's casinos are recommended among the highest-paying options, which only seems to further existing perceptions of the group. People associate it with prestige and quality, as well as tech-forward approaches to a variety of projects.

This perception, established over a number of years through everything from impeccable airline service to those new online casinos, lends legitimacy to what may ultimately be the conglomerate's most ambitious project: Virgin Galactic (in connection to The Spaceship Company). This company has been around since 2004, with various goals relating to outer space exploration - but it's recently been in the headlines again.

Virgin Galactic's latest work involves sending people into space, like most other modern space exploration operations led by the likes of SpaceX or Boeing. However, Virgin is prioritizing luxury and comfort in its designs, in lieu of pure scientific discovery. Earlier this month, Virgin founder Richard Branson stated that he has created the first commercial "spaceport" and that it will be ready to launch travelers into space as early as next year. This spaceport, named Spaceport America, will in theory function similarly to a common airport - except that passengers will be boarding luxury spaceships instead of airplanes. The concept may seem far-fetched, but it's been in the works for a while now; in fact, Virgin already launched a successful trial commercial space flight in 2018 (without passengers, of course).

At this point you're probably wondering how you can trade your next planned flight to visit family in for a ticket to space. Unfortunately, unless you have a spare $250,000, you may be out of luck. That said, there are enough wealthy and adventurous people out there that 600 future passengers from over 60 countries have already made their deposits to secure seats on the first space tourism expedition. And rest assured, they're in for a luxurious experience worthy of some of the first legitimate space tourism in human history. Spaceport America's Gateway to Space - Virgin's newest "airport" in the New Mexico desert - was unveiled earlier this month with reports of a gourmet cafe and upscale lounges, designed to calm passengers' nerves before they tour outer space.

For many years, Virgin's endeavors to create a commercial space flight have been laughed at and doubted. The idea that the same company behind airlines, casinos, and mobile tech taking humans to space - as successful as those endeavors might be - seemed borderline fictional. However, this summer, we are seeing significant progress that may indicate success in the near future. Be sure to keep an eye out for reports of more test flights, and eventually actual passenger expeditions. And in the meantime, go ahead and start stashing your spare change! You never know when Branson might cut the rates....