Lifestyle

A selfie mirror and Under Armour space suits: first look inside Virgin Galactic’s spaceflight cabin


Virgin Galactic has today revealed the first look at its highly anticipated spaceflight cabins.

The cabins have been designed in collaboration with London design agency Seymourpowell to create an experience-focussed concept for the cabin – with large windows next to each seat and above the seats as well.

Each of the cabin seats are individually sized – and can be adjusted for each person – and were created using aluminium and carbon-fiber manufacturing techniques. Every last thing has been carefully considered – even the colour palette of the cabin has been curated to compliment the seats and the suits.

The spacesuits that passengers will be wearing have been created in a partnership with Under Armour and are made of a ‘3D knit featuring constructions that map breathability and function into the fabric encasing each cabin seat to provide comfort and mobility during spaceflight’.


Virgin Galactic says its 600 ‘Future Astronauts’ have been clear that photos and videos of the experience are of ‘paramount importance’ – because who wants to go to space if you can’t document the whole thing on the ‘gram? As a result there are 16 cabin cameras which will take photos and videos and the Virgin team will create personal movies of the experience for each passenger.

The cabin has also been designed with a weightless experience in mind – soft surfaces line the cabin. For those who want to check themselves out while weightless, the cabin also includes a large circular mirror that allows the passengers to view themselves at zero-gravity while ‘illuminated by the natural brightness of the Earth’.

Space enthusiasts can download the augmented reality app to explore the cabin first hand and see what a seat on the flights would be like.

Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group, said: ‘’When we created Virgin Galactic, we started with what we believed would be an optimal customer experience and then built the spaceship around it. We will continue with that ethos as we expand our fleet, build our operations and underpin Virgin Galactic’s position as the Spaceline for Earth. This cabin has been designed specifically to allow thousands of people like you and me to achieve the dream of spaceflight safely – and that is incredibly exciting.’’

Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic,, added: “In just my second week as Virgin Galactic’s CEO, it is with great pride that I can lead our talented teams in revealing this latest milestone in our journey to space. The spaceship cabin interior is in many ways the design centrepiece of the astronaut journey and what has been created will both facilitate and elevate a uniquely profound and transformational journey for the thousands who will fly. The fascination with spaceflight is universal and Virgin Galactic is here to satisfy it. We are particularly proud to be able to share this latest milestone with millions around the world, particularly during these unusual times. We hope the new app, with cutting-edge AR technology will help bring the dream of space one step closer for space enthusiasts everywhere.”

As you might imagine, flights to space won’t be cheap. The full cost for one seat on a spaceflight will be $250,000 (£194,000) – but for those with endless pockets, Virgin is encouraging future passengers to place a $1,000 (£776) refundable deposit to be ‘front of line’ for future spaceflight reservations.

Before the pandemic hit, Virgin Galactic’s plan was to fly Branson on its first commercial space flight some time this year – but this timeline was thrown off due to COVID-19. Last month it completed its second SpaceShipTwo test flight in New Mexico. At the time, former CEO George Whitesides, said: “I am thrilled with the team’s hard work to complete today’s test flight successfully. It was an important test that, pending data review, means we can now start preparing the vehicles for powered flight.

“Our focus for this year remains unchanged on ensuring the vehicles and our operations are prepared for long-term, regular commercial spaceflight service.”



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