Out of this world

In the history of global commerce, there are very few occasions where an entirely new product category is created. But Virgin is about to do just that.

Within the next year or so Virgin Galactic is set to become the world’s first commercial spaceline offering daily flights to space.

It’s a nascent industry with huge potential and fortunes to boot. To date only around 518 humans from 38 countries have flown into space, but many believe that by 2020 as many as 50,000 people could fly to space every year.

Brewing away at Spaceport America, Virgin Galactic’s US$200 million space base in the southern parts of the Mojave Desert, test flights are in full swing.

In June this year Virgin confirmed SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Galactic’s first passenger carrying spaceship, had completed two successful glide flights within 24 hours, marking its quickest turnaround time yet and proving that daily flights are indeed a very real possibility.

Already, Virgin says it has taken more than 440 deposits from customers, or people it calls “future astronauts”, totalling US$88 million in revenue, but a long list affluent consumers from China, to American actor Tom Hanks and even Princess Beatrice (slated to be the first royal in space), are forking out US$200,000 each for a seat on SpaceShipTwo. But can blame them?

Stephen Attenborough sits at the forefront of commercialising and marketing this new frontier to consumers.

As commercial director and head of astronaut relations at Virgin Galactic, a company wholly owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, he is moving, at light speed, into an area that only a handful of elite governments have been able to do.

But in true Virgin style, its relentless focus on the customer experience is something none have yet to achieve.

“We know that Virgin Galactic may be the ultimate example of that [customer focused] philosophy but we’re up for a challenge and it’s going remarkably well,” Attenborough says.

“It’s audacious, monumentally so, to take ordinary people into the fundamentally human-unfriendly environment of space within a commercial framework and with levels of safety from day one that are much closer to commercial aviation than government space.”

So what does this new era of space tourism tell us about the future of business, human desire and the new realities of global wealth? Attenborough makes no bones about what he thinks this new industry represents.

“It tells us that the human spirit is alive and well,” he says. “It shows that our innate desire to push boundaries, to explore and to overcome challenges is as strong as it ever has been and our ingenuity and determination knows few bounds.

“Maybe now, in the turmoil and when suddenly nothing is safe or certain anymore, it also says that things will be okay and that the dream and the vision is still alive,” he adds.

But that’s not to say the venture is without its challenges. Virgin is undertaking one of its most ambitious and risky projects yet, but still Attenborough described it as the coolest project on Earth. And, he adds that marketing what is today the most expensive seat on the planet, is one of the easier aspects of his job.

“The experience of space almost markets itself. You could say that this business is simple – one product, high demand, clearly defined customers and no competition – but enormously hard to implement."

What we’re doing isn’t easy and we have to get it right the first time.

He adds the fantastic response from customers around the world is testament that those with wealth and influence increasingly recognise the opportunity and responsibility they have to be a force for rapid change for good. Virgin Galactic is also advancing customer relations to areas most global brands have yet to explore.

Upon signing up, customers, or who Attenborough describes as “future astronauts” are welcomed into what is possibly the world’s most exclusive club with privileged access to all aspects of the project as it progresses.

Buying a ticket also means invites to Astronaut Forums with Sir Richard Branson on his Caribbean island home or his South African game reserve, to opportunities to tour Scaled Composites and see first hand new Virgin Galactic vehicles under development. All future astronauts are also given VIP invitations to media events to mark major milestones.

And there are also clear advantages working in what it quite possibly the most innovative areas of business today.

“I can only really describe it as an incredible once in a lifetime privilege,” Attenborough admits.

“It’s hugely rewarding to be working on something like this and more fun than you could reasonably expect from a job. We love the fact that we are constantly making business decisions that have never been made before.”

While it’s hard to imagine that when SpaceShipTwo does finally take its first commercial flight it will have the same effects on society that Apollo 11 did, but I suspect its significance will be just as extraordinary.