We're relying heavily on commercial flight providers, as the industry is still immature. Virgin Galactic has sold over 600 tickets but hasn't started flying regularly. Blue Origin hasn't started selling tickets and hasn't performed any manned flight tests. Given the risks involved in any spaceflight, the flight providers need to ensure that the vehicles, training, and flight processes are as safe as possible - requiring many test flights.
Great question - we get this fairly often.
We're relying heavily on commercial flight providers, as the industry is still immature. Virgin Galactic has sold over 600 tickets but hasn't started flying regularly. Blue Origin hasn't started selling tickets and hasn't performed any manned flight tests. Given the risks involved in any spaceflight, the flight providers need to ensure that the vehicles, training, and flight processes are as safe as possible - requiring many test flights.