Svibanj / May 2010 - Maistra

Travel industrija | Travel Industry
Piše | Text by: Vedrana Legović
Virgin Galactic:
projekt svemirskog turizma
Virgin Galactic:
Space Tourism Project
Mali korak za čovječanstvo,
velik za običnog turista
A Small Step for Human Kind, But a Giant Leap For the Regular Tourist
Ako vam je dosta mora i planina, aktivnog i pasivnoga
godišnjeg odmora, a jedni ste od onih koji su oduvijek
sanjali da će jednoga dana istraživati svemir, baš
onako kako to rade u SF filmovima, evo nečega što
bi vas moglo zaintrigirati. Letovi u svemir najprije
su bili rezervirani samo za astronaute, pa onda za
multimilijardere, a ubrzo bi mogli biti dostupni svima
koji uspiju odvojiti “sitnih” milijun kuna za svemirsku
avanturu. Kažemo “sitnih” jer je to ravno 100 puta
manje nego li je dosad bilo potrebno izdvojiti za
uživanje u svemirskim putešestvijama.
A tko bi se sjetio otvoriti prvu svjetsku svemirsku
turističku agenciju, nego onaj hiperaktivni britanski
svestrani poduzetnik kojeg svi znamo - Richard
Branson, jedan od najvećih poslovnih vizionara
današnjice s nepresušnim vrelom svakojakih ideja.
Jedna od takvih, isprva luckastih zamisli, jest da svatko
može za 200.000 dolara otputovati u visine do 100
kilometara od Zemlje, tamo provesti 2,5 sata, a od toga
oko četiri minute u bestežinskom stanju.
Ubrzo letimo!
Ideja je počela poprimati realne konture kada je Sir
Branson 2004. godine u sklopu svoje Virgin grupe
osnovao i Virgin Galactic - kompaniju koja je potkraj
prošle godine objavila da 2010. godine započinju
eksperimentalni, a 2011. komercijalni letovi u svemir.
Sve je počelo još 1996. kada je raspisana nagrada
u iznosu od 10 milijuna dolara za projekt koji će
omogućiti komercijalne letove u svemir. A 2004.
godine nagradu osvaja, pogađate, Virginov svemirski
brod SpaceShipOne, koji je dostigao visinu od 110
kilometara. Na temelju iskustava s prvom letjelicom,
usavršava se SpaceShipTwo koji će do orbite ponijeti
šest putnika i dvoje pilota. Trenutačno su spremne
dvije letjelice za prijevoz svemirskih putnika. Glavna
If you are tired of the sea and the mountains, active
and passive holidays, and you are one of those people
who have always dreamed of exploring the universe
one day, just like they do in Sci-Fi movies, here is
something that might just interest you. Space flights
were initially reserved only for the astronauts, then
for the multimillionaires, and very soon they may be
available to everyone who can set aside a “measly”
140.000 euros for a space flight adventure. We say
measly because it is precisely 100 times less than it
has been so far, necessary for space travel enjoyment.
And who would think of opening the first space
tourist agency in the world than the hyperactive
British versatile entrepreneur we all know so well
- Sir Richard Branson, one of the greatest business
visionaries of our time with an inexhaustible source
of ideas. One of which, though at first glance may
seem ridiculous, is that anyone, for 200,000 dollars
can travel up to 100 km above the Earth, spending a
total of two and a half hours in space, four minutes of
which in weightlessness.
Flying Soon!
The idea started to become a reality in 2004 when
Branson founded Virgin Galactic within his Virgin
Group - a company which announced at the end of
the last year that it would start with experimental
space travel in 2010, while commercial space travel
would be launched in 2011. It all began in 1996 when
a 10 million dollar prize was offered for a project that
would enable commercial travel into space. In 2004
the award went to, as you could probably guess -
Virgin space ship SpaceShipOne, which reached the
height of 110 kilometers. Based on the experience
with the first space ship, they are in the process
of developing SpaceShipTwo which will boost six
46 47