Highlights
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College of Arts and Humanities alum Alex Williams 鈥�09 is helping design the human spaceflight experience at Virgin Galactic as the company works to make commercial space travel more accessible.
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Drawing on lessons from UCF, Disney and themed entertainment, Williams creates immersive experiences that bring the dream of spaceflight closer to everyday people.
When Alex Williams 鈥�09 says, 鈥渢hese are exciting times,鈥� just consider where he鈥檚 been and where he believes humanity is going.
Williams recently traveled between Virgin Galactic鈥檚 headquarters in Tustin, California, and its spaceship factory in Mesa, Arizona, 350 miles from Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Today, fewer than 800 people have traveled to space. But Virgin Galactic projects that soon 750 or more people 鈥� 鈥渁stronauts鈥� 鈥� will ride its spaceships annually.
“My wheelhouse, [going] back to Disney and UCF, is designing experiences that are different, larger than ourselves.”
As the company鈥檚 senior manager of program design, Williams is among those responsible for producing a full 鈥渆xperience鈥� around each pinnacle moment.
鈥淢y wheelhouse, [going] back to Disney and UCF, is designing experiences that are different, larger than ourselves,鈥� Williams says. 鈥淗ere, I get to be part of opening space as the next layer of humanity.鈥�
While Virgin Galactic鈥檚 early flights made headlines for carrying company founder Sir Richard Branson and a few private astronauts, those brief trips had a bigger purpose.
鈥淲e believe deeply in making space accessible for all,鈥� Williams says. 鈥淓ach spaceflight brings everyone closer. The day is coming for everyday people who watched Apollo and Artemis missions with wonder. It鈥檚 coming for the person looking for perspective or the next adventure. They can be astronauts.鈥�
Inside and Outside a Flight to Space
The official term for a flight with Virgin Galactic is 鈥渟paceflight expedition.鈥� Passengers don鈥檛 board a rocket.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a spaceship,鈥� Williams says.
Part of the experience, then, is knowing your way into a spacesuit and into your seat aboard the spaceship. It鈥檚 bonding with crewmates and being prepared for Mach 3 speed. Preparation is critical, but it鈥檚 designed to be much less intense than fortifying oneself for a Mount Everest expedition.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e in New Mexico for less than a week,鈥� Williams says. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want it to be physically taxing because we want you fully immersed in this monumental experience.鈥�
The spaceflight expedition is approximately 90 minutes from boarding to landing, including several minutes of weightlessness.
鈥淪afety is paramount, so we use an air launch system where a launch vehicle carries our spaceship to a release point of 45,000 feet,鈥� Williams says. 鈥淭hen the rocket motor kicks in, and the spaceship accelerates to Mach 3. The astronauts are sent back into their seats comfortably. When the motor shuts off, you coast to your highest point. And then the spaceship glides back to Spaceport for a graceful runway landing.鈥�
The immersion surrounds those 90 minutes. It includes hospitality, food and beverage, and bringing astronauts and their families into the culture of the Las Cruces area.
鈥淲e test everything,鈥� Williams says. 鈥淚鈥檝e learned, for example, that I like hatch chiles.鈥�
They are now part of the carefully designed experience.
Stretching His Own Mind
After four years at Virgin Galactic, Williams has explained the experience so many times that he feels as if he鈥檚 taken flight himself.
Even so, he still occasionally struggles to find the words.
鈥淚t鈥檚 indescribable,鈥� he says.
The technology of safe spaceflight is mostly beyond his understanding, which only adds to the fascination for a kid at heart who grew up in Citrus County, just 90 minutes from Orlando鈥檚 theme parks, where he first began stretching his imagination.
鈥淒isney had this unbridled positivity for what the future could be,鈥� Williams says. 鈥淚 wanted to be a part of something like that, helping push humanity forward, but I wasn鈥檛 sure how.鈥�
He began to discover how at UCF, where he majored in art and says he had the freedom to 鈥淔rankenstein my educational program together.鈥� The first day he walked into the Student Union, he happened to be walking into auditions for Universal Orlando Resort鈥檚 Halloween Horror Nights.
鈥淭hat experience became a piece to the puzzle,鈥� he says.
A themed attraction class, where he helped design a ride, added another piece. So did operations courses through his hospitality management minor at .
He used all these lessons during his 16 years with Disney, including Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort and D23.
鈥淎nd then my ears perked up when I heard about the direction of Virgin Galactic,鈥� Williams says. 鈥淚 saw it like my own story 鈥� in a constant state of becoming.鈥�
“This is a rare experience that can connect us to each other, to our planet and to possibilities to do something good.”
His mindset also parallels Virgin Galactic鈥檚 ultimate intent for spaceflight.
鈥淚t comes down to optimism,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is a rare experience that can connect us to each other, to our planet and to possibilities to do something good. You don鈥檛 go up on our spaceship to look out at space 鈥� you go up to look back at Earth. As more people do that, we can鈥檛 begin to imagine how much good can result from those few minutes.鈥�
