Virgin Galactic and NASA signed an agreement on Monday for the organization of private space flights to the International Space Station (ISS). Richard Branson's company will market the places to wealthy tourists. The project will also allow the American space agency to develop a “commercial activity” around the ISS, explains a press release from Virgin Galactic relayed by The Verge .
"NASA is facing a growing demand for the use of the ISS in the context of scientific and technological research and development [...] and international collaborations", indicates the publication. The links managed by the Virgin group could therefore be "expeditions for private individuals" but also "scientific research missions supported by governments".
A training program for future astronauts
Through the voice of its CEO George Whitesides, Virgin Galactic welcomes the partnership, which will give the company the opportunity to operate its space flight platform but which will also open the doors of its space training infrastructure at Nasa and other agencies. Virgin Galactic has already started to use its training capabilities.
A “future astronaut preparation” program has been designed by the company to help customers on its commercial flights to acclimatize to the conditions they will encounter in orbit. "We are proud to share this vision to help develop new opportunities in the space economy," said George Whitesides.
This collaboration also marks the arrival of Virgin Galactic in the spaceflight sector, notes The Verge . The company has been concentrating for fifteen years on the development and marketing of suborbital flights not exceeding an altitude of 90 kilometers.
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