Virgin Galactic Spaceship Crash: Investors Want Out As Company Pushes Through With Second Space Carrier

A large number of wealthy investors of Virgin Galactic LLC are scrambling to pull out their investments from the company. Reports said they number at least 30 individuals.

One of them was identified by The Independent as Peter Ulrich von May, an asset manager based in Switzerland. He said he believed and subscribed to the company's ambitious plans seven years ago when he was still 63. Although he described himself as "still an active private pilot and in good health," he is now unsure how long the program,e will see fruition after what happened to the first SpaceShipTwo. He had heard the company will proceed building a second space carrier, "but who knows how long it will now take" and has already informed VG he wants out. He said he has yet to receive a reply to his investment withdrawal.

The idea of space tourism has certainly enticed imaginations of a lot of people, particularly the rich and famous. According to a report of Money CNN, despite the cost of a ticket of more than $250,000, Virgin Galactic managed to sell more than 700 tickets for future flights. Among the fired-up personalities eager to see infinity and beyond include Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher, Leonardo DiCaprio, Stephen Hawking, Katy Perry, Russell Brand, Lady Gaga, Brad and Angelina Pitt, and Tom Hanks. Princess Beatrice of York, first child and elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York, was also identified by the Daily Mail as one of the programme's highest-profile customers. She had expressed to no longer boarding the Virgin Galactic spacecraft on one of the flights after the disaster last week.

Virgin Galactic, founded by billionaire Sir Richard Branson, will carry passengers up to about 62 miles (100 km) above Earth, borderline where the beginning of outer space is located. The space carrier will then let its passengers experience zero gravity before bringing them back to reality on the ground. But another unidentified investor told The Independent that he wants his money back because of reports stating such adventure "doesn't stand a chance of getting into space."

Virgin Galactic's first SpaceShipTwo crashed in the Mojave Desert in California on Friday. The accident killed co-pilot Michael Alsbury. Pilot Peter Siebold survived. Christopher Hart from the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation team said it could take at least a year to determine the probable cause of the accident.