Billionaire space race counts down to liftoff

Virgin Galactic has been given the go-ahead to launch its maiden voyage from US regulators which has sent the so-called billionaire space race into its next stages as Richard Branson and main rival Jeff Bezos, alongside his new company Blue Origin, look to pioneer commercial spaceflight.

The Virgin and Amazon CEOs are looking to break into a new market by offering short suborbital trips to the edge of space.

Virgin Galactic performed its first manned test flight on May 22 - the culmination of more than 16 years of work - as it pulls forward its original spaceflight ambitions in order to allow for Galactic's first commercial trip to fall ahead of Blue Origin's.

Read more: Virgin Galactic performs first manned test flight

Galactic's approval from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has caused Branson to reschedule its maiden voyage to July 4, falling on America's independence day, while Bezos' company is expected to take its first steps on July 20 - 52 years to the day since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first stepped foot on the moon's surface.

Spaceflight tickets on Virgin Galactic have been on sale since 2005 and started at $200,000 (€168,130). The price has only gone up over time owing to slowly increasing demand.

A Mojave-based blogger also hinted Branson may also take a seat in Galactic's first trip, becoming the first billionaire in the space race to fly to the edge of space. He has been promising he will make this trip for more than a decade.

Further tests will need to be conducted before commercial six-man crafts will be sent beyond the Kármán line.

Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said the company are "pleased with the results" from their test flights.

He added: "Today’s approval by the FAA of our full commercial launch license, in conjunction with the success of our May 22 test flight, give us confidence as we proceed toward our first fully crewed test flight this summer.”

He also told CNBC they are now moving to 'cabin experience' after getting approvals for handling the technical aspects.

Read more: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin greenlights commercial spaceflight

Meanwhile, Blue Origin, which will be offering one seat on its first foray into space, announced its winning bid on June 12.

The winning bid clocked in at $28 million (€23.5 million), all of which will be donated to Blue Origin's foundation, The Club of the Future, which encourages future generations to pursue careers in STEM.

The winner will be joined in the first trip by founder Bezos and his brother, Mark.

Both Galactic and Origin's craft reached altitudes of 80-100 km in their test flights, spending a few minutes floating in the low-gravity before descending.

Investment in Blue Origin is one of the primary reasons why Bezos decided to resign his position as Amazon CEO, effective in Q3, alongside wanting to further environmental initiatives.

Read more: Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon chief

Branson hopes to fly multiple crafts into space every week, and Galactic has been focusing primarily on quick turnover times.

The billionaire space race also includes Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has not sought commercial spaceflight to the same degree, but who recently won a contract from NASA to build a lunar lander for its Artemis programme.

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