In the years immediately following Virgin Galactic's 2004 debut, European airplane manufacturer Airbus announced that it too would be headed to the edge of space. The space jet, as they called the project, would be capable of carrying its human cargo to space without the aid of a mothership like Virgin's White Knight Two. But after 2007, the project went strangely silent.
The reigning theory at the time was that Airbus had simply failed to muster up any partners for their billion-dollar spaceplane. Now, with at least a dozen other space planes in varying stages of development, it seems that Airbus has found the will to move forward with their once cutting-edge project. Later this year, Airbus will be carrying out a drop test in the skies above Singapore, the first of many steps that need to be taken in order to see the space jet become a reality.
To perform the test, a helicopter will hoist a one-quarter scale model of the space jet to 10,000 feet. Once released, the space plane will remain in glide mode and be controlled from the ground. If all goes well, another test will be performed next year. Once completed and properly tested, the space jet could offer flights to the edge of space for a total of four passengers per trip.
Despite the exclusivity implied in such a small passenger list, tickets have been rumored to run at about $200,000, the same as SpaceShip Two. It's a move in the right direction for Europe's largest airplane manufacturer, but with Virgin Galactic practically ready to take to the heavens and numerous other space tourism projects well under way, the long-lived hiatus might end up costing Airbus and its partners a pretty penny. VIDEO
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