Virgin Galactic: The packaging of consumer space travel

Having recently been asked what I would consider my favorite 'design object', I found myself lost, pondering endless possibilities. 'What IS a design object?' I asked myself, 'Is it a product made in a design studio? built in a factory? Or is it something bigger; something that could change the way we see the world.'

If you want to read about my favorite earthly design object you can certainly refer to my prior blog entry titled 'Dakine: Designing Functionality with Style' where you will find I have already spoken at length on this subject. Today though, my sights are set on a much larger object, the White Knight Two and it's cargo SpaceShip Two. This is the Galactic tourist vessel owned by VirginGalactic that is likely to usher in a new age of commercial space exploration. With each ticket priced at $200,000, I doubt that I'll be taking a trip to the stars in this decade, but the excitement lays in the future of space travel.

Now that Space travel has a price tag, development of new technology has suddenly become profitable. Which means: we wont have to wait for NASA to finish scouring the solar system for life before they move on to putting the next Hilton on the moon.

Now, I should say that I am getting ahead of myself, VirginGalactic is still a few years from their first launch, but the gears are in motion. After all, they wouldn't print it in the paper if it wasn't true, right?

Anyways, the White Knight Two has been designed to fly the SpaceShipTwo into the stratosphere, allowing it to fire it's own propulsion without the added friction caused by gravity. This fact alone substantially reduces the danger to human life, allowing sub-orbital space tourism to become the first step towards commercial exploration of space.

Plus you have to admit, this space shuttle is far sexier than anything NASA has ever laid their hands on.