Virgin Galactic has revealed the cabin interior design for the first of its SpaceshipTwo vehicles – the VSS Unity – which will allow would-be astronauts and space enthusiasts to explore the edge of space in style and comfort. Readers can also explore the design of the newly unveiled cabin from home, with the help of an augmented reality mobile app.
The elegant interior is fitted with 12 cabin windows positioned on the upper side and roof sections of the spacecraft, through which customers will be able to observe the Earth’s surface as it slips beneath them.
Upon launch and during landing, passengers will be buckled into specially designed seats, each of which is tailored to the individual customer. All of these costly astro-thrones were constructed with high-grade aluminium and carbon fiber, and accentuated with engineered foam before being covered by "technical fabrics" designed by Under Armour.
According to Virgin Galactic, during high G-force sections of the flight, the positions of the chairs will be controlled in part by the pilot to ease the physical stress on passengers. Upon achieving weightlessness, the empty seat – free of its now-weightless passenger – will recline to give the crew as much space as possible.
Each seat is also fitted with a personal digital display that feeds the passenger data throughout the flight, and connects them to the pilots of the VSS Unity.
The SpaceshipTwo interior was designed in in collaboration with London design agency Seymourpowell, with input from doctors, astronaut trainers, pilots, engineers and future customers.
During the separate phases of the mission, multi-color LEDs fitted in the circular window mounts will set the mood, while a suite of 16 interior cameras will capture every moment as the passengers experience Earth from the edge of space.
In a final design flourish, the aft bulkhead of the cabin has been fitted with a large circular mirror, through which customers can watch themselves enjoy their time in space. It will also be possible to replace the seats with payload racks, allowing researchers to fly to space with their experiments if needed.
Those interested in learning more about the design of the cabin can download a free augmented reality-enabled app for their smartphone, which can be found by searching "Virgin Galactic" on either the Apple App Store or the Android Play Store.
Scroll down to watch the full unveiling of the SpaceshipTwo cabin
Source: Virgin Galactic