In what some are calling a case of unfortunate timing, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is feeling the heat from the internet community.
The billionaire's company announced its inaugural commercial space flight will take place on Thursday - just one week after it was announced that five people are believed to have died on the Titan submersible that was voyaging to the depths of the Titanic wreckage.
Virgin Galactic announced on Monday the launch of the Galactic 01 mission, which would propel three passengers from the Italian Air Force and National Research Council into the cosmos. These pioneering passengers will be accompanied by a team of five from Virgin Galactic — an astronaut instructor and four pilots.
Set to blast off on Thursday, June 29, this 90-minute voyage aims to "conduct a series of suborbital science experiments," according to the company's press release. The launch will be live-streamed for the world to see.
In a bid to lure space enthusiasts and high-net-worth individuals, Virgin Galactic is also promoting tickets for future out-of-this-world adventures at a hefty $450,000 apiece, with a call to "reserve" their spot "in history," as stated in their online brochure.
However, social media users weren't shy about criticizing the space travel company for its seemingly ill-timed announcement, coming right after the Titan submersible disaster.
After sharing a promotional video for the upcoming space flight on its official Instagram page, Virgin Galactic was met with criticism over its timing to promote what is being referred to as "extreme tourism" (that is, travel to dangerous places or participation in potentially dangerous events that often comes with a high price tag.)
"Dumb times to promote some random multimillionaire trip," one Instagram user commented, with another adding: "Very poor timing."
Another social media user asked: "Did we just not learn anything last week?"
"Too soon after what happened with the submarine," a fourth commented.
CBC News has also released a video exploring extreme tourism - questioning why trips like this are able to go ahead.
As part of the video, Andrew Chang investigates the laws in place to protect the passengers on trips like the Titan sub or Virgin Galactic flight, and questions: "What are the limits? How far can a company legally push the envelope to give effectively anyone with enough money a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?"
However, in the comments section of CBC's video, there were people defending Virgin Galactic's upcoming trips, with one person arguing that "man would be stagnant if we didn't take chances", adding: "It's a shame lives are lost though, hopefully we learn from our mistakes."
Another argued: "If given enough resources, opportunity, and desire; there will always be individuals who will do. Before there where regulations, people went over a waterfall in a barrel. A guy was allowed to jump over a Vegas casino's fountain. A person stepped off a ballon at the edge of the atmosphere. Society rewards them for being daring and surviving the experience."
The submersible vessel tragically imploded last week during an expedition to the Titanic wreckage, taking the lives of several billionaire tourists onboard.
Public skepticism around space tourism's safety is not without precedent. In a sobering incident from November 2014, Virgin Galactic suffered a tragic loss when one crew member was killed during a test flight of their prototype craft after an explosion over the Mojave Desert, Insider reports.
Moreover, billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX also experienced a setback in April when one of its rockets erupted into a fireball during an attempted orbit launch.
Yet, despite the inherent risks, the allure of such daring adventures continues to attract the ultra-wealthy.
Insider adds that Virgin Galactic did not immediately respond for a request to comment.
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