Richard Branson’s plans to make space tourism a commercial reality could open up a new industry for West Midland aerospace firms, according to a senior figure at Virgin Galactic.
Stephen Attenborough, commercial director at the world’s first “spaceline” was at Birmingham Town Hall to speak about the company’s plans to take passengers into space for £125,000 a time.
The firm has already taken cash deposits from 370 would-be astronauts for when it finally launches its first commercial space flight, and construction of a spaceport in New Mexico is under way.
Virgin Galactic is still in the test phase of its technology, which is being built in the US by Scaled Composites, a firm founded by spaceship designer Burt Rutan.
It has just passed a key milestone with Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo completing its first manned glide flight in what Richard Branson described as “one of the most exciting days in the whole history of Virgin”.
Mr Attenborough said although the technology being developed to take passengers into space is American, aerospace firms all over the world could eventually tap into the opportunities it opens up.
“What we’re seeing generally is that near-earth activities are increasingly going to become the preserve of the private sector rather than government agencies,” he said.
“There is a great industry waiting to happen and the UK traditionally has been very innovative and has quite a space heritage, so it would be lovely to see some UK companies taking advantage of that.”
The Midlands is a key player in the UK’s aerospace sector, with just under a quarter of the country’s industry and 40,000 jobs based here, ranging from large global players to small supply firms.
Mr Attenborough said: “I hope what we will be able to do is not only start a great business and allow thousands of people to experience space for themselves, but also spur on a new industry.
“That’s why it’s essential we do this safely and that it’s a commercially viable business.
“If we can meet those two objectives then the spin-offs could be huge for companies around the world as it will demonstrate that this is a sector that has potential.
“It can potentially see a lot of new private investment and I hope that will have implications not just for the US but in the UK and elsewhere.”
Virgin Galactic does not yet have a fixed date for when it will launch the first commercial space flight.
Mr Attenborough said: “The nature of a test flight programme, particularly a spaceship taking passengers up into space, is that you need to test and test and test.
“We’ve always said our timeline will be dictated by the success of our test flights and safety.
“I would say we’re on the final stretch, it’s a very crucial final stretch but how long that will last we will need to see.”
