Vesa Heilala is one of the first Finns to go into space.
Heilala attending Virgin’s meeting in London in 2012. Vesa Heilala
British billionaire Richard Branson’s owned by Virgin Galactic launched its first commercial spaceflight on June 29.
“Finnish astronaut“- the one who refers to himself by a nickname Vesa Heilala56, is one of the Finns who bought a ticket for Virgin’s space flight.
– According to my information, there are three of us Finns who have bought a ticket. Of course, the number may have changed over the years, Heilala states.
Heilala says that the company’s first tourist flight will take place in August and his own turn will be at the end of 2024 at the earliest. Virgin has not yet confirmed more detailed information about the time.
– I’ve dreamed of going into space since I was knee-high. After all, we’ve been waiting for this for a year.
“It’s easier to win the lottery than to become a professional astronaut”
There are no Finnish professional astronauts. For Finns, the only opportunities for this profession are mainly through the European Space Agency ESA, but the competition for applicants is extremely tough.
– It’s easier to win the lottery than to become a professional astronaut, Heilala says.
Obtaining a ticket through Virgin Galactic opened up the possibility for Heilala to become an astronaut, even if it did not become a profession.
– This will be the highest point of my life, although perhaps I should say the highlight. I’m unlikely to get any higher, Heilala laughs.
Sailboat or space flight
About 800 tickets have been sold for future flights. The prices of these have been between 200,000 and 450,000 US dollars (184,000–412,000 euros).
Buying a space flight did not come as a surprise to Heilala’s acquaintances.
– Those who know me said that this is no news.
Heilalan can be recognized by the Fiat Uno tuned in traffic. Vesa Heilala
For the flight, Heilala applied for a loan from the bank and mortgaged her apartment for this. He got the ticket in 2010. The bank didn’t wonder about it either.
– That’s not it. The terms of the loan, the interest rates and the payment plan were negotiated. Others might buy a sailboat, and this happened in exactly the same way.
Safety is not in doubt
Among other things The Los Angeles Times speculated how the OceanGate submarine accident will affect the popularity of space tourism. Heilala is certainly not fazed by the matter, and she is looking forward to the space trip with confidence.
– At Virgin, all safety aspects have been checked by the authorities, as far as I understand, this was not the case in this submarine case.
However, Virgin Galactic’s development work has not been completely problem-free. In 2014, the ship crashed during a test flight due to a braking error. The co-pilot of the plane died in the accident.
– This presumably brought a bit of a back pack to the flight schedules, Heilala says.
Virgin also makes sure that the passengers are physically fit. For example, there must be no heart disease. Those taking the flight are also trained before departure.
– When the flight becomes relevant, a three-day training program starts, and on the fourth day you can take the flight.
Heilala says that during the training program, they practice, among other things, how to operate on the ship and what can be done at any stage. The rules are learned carefully and repeated several times.