Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin flaunts its 'large window' in face-off with Virgin Galactic

With highly symbolic flights by rivals Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin just days apart, the era of space travel is ready to surge. Earlier, only highly trained astronauts used to go to orbit to conduct sophisticated space operations and explorations. However, this is no longer the case. Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, are offering “commoners” a journey to space. 

Blue Origin's official Twitter account has made a comparison between their trip to space and what Virgin Galactic has to offer. The message aims to make a clear distinction between the two services on offer, with Blue Origin leading the comparison. Their windows are the most prominent feature they boast about. Blue Origin also promises to have a little impact on the ozone layer, despite the Virgin Galactic trip having a high impact.

Although the two firms' modes of transportation appear to be distinct, it is still too early to say whether one trip will be better than the other. On July 11, Virgin Galactic lifted off with its owner Richard Branson, and Blue Origin will take off on July 20 with its owner, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

Virgin Galactic will begin the commercial operations from 2022

Virgin Galactic hopes to begin regular commercial operations in early 2022, with 400 trips per year planned from its New Mexico headquarters, Spaceport America. Approximately 600 seats have already been sold, with prices ranging from $200,000 to $250,000. Some of the tickets were sold to Hollywood celebrities. When tickets go on sale to the general public, they are projected to be much more pricey. Blue Origin has yet to reveal ticket prices or a timeline for when commercial operations will begin. However, a seat on the July 20 flight was auctioned off, and the winner paid $28 million.

The two businesses will compete in the nascent market for suborbital flights that last only a few minutes, long enough for passengers to feel weightless and see the planet's outline.