The British entrepreneur Richard Branson has officially entered the billionaire space tourism race following today’s successful launch of the first commercial flight of Virgo Galactic.

The mothership and spaceplane lifted off from Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport America in New Mexico at 10:45 a.m. ET, and the pair parted ways moments later.

The flight marks a defining moment for the Virgin Galactic company as it enters commercial service afterward been plagued for several years by setbacks in the development of their projects.

The crew included three passengers funded by the Italian Air Force and one of the company’s astronaut instructors who flew with Branson earlier in 2021. This trip takes approx 90 minutes and will be more than 100 kilometers above the surface of the earth.

When the Virgin Galactic jets reached an altitude of about 40,000 miles, the mothership released the spaceplane, which then rocketed to the final frontier for its hour-and-a-half journey.

The technique has been explored over decades of flight research, including the X-1, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier, and the X-15, the fastest piloted aircraft ever, with a top speed of 4,520 miles per hour. a 1967 flight. That reduces the need for huge amounts of fuel, since the craft doesn’t use rocket power to drag itself through the dense lower atmosphere.

This still image from Virgin Galactic video shows the Galactic 01 spacecraft launching its first commercial flight from Spaceport City in New Mexico on June 29, 2023.
Photo: AFP

The Virgin Galactic spaceplane was propelled by two pilots while all four passengers sat in the cockpit preparing for space. For Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei, designated commander, the flight aboard the spaceplane was part of his astronaut training for a future mission to the International Space Station.

business travel

It is the first time a private company has launched a commercial crew to suborbital altitudes. The success of this launch could pave the way for future commercial spaceflight and make space travel a reality for more people. Already with the announcement of the shipment of the first Galactic 01, the Branson company almost immediately announced a second flight.

Virgin galactic ship

Branson joined billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos on Thursday who have also developed space travel with their own companies. Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin use rockets to launch capsules into space, while Branson took a different approach with airdrops.

Research

The focus of the Galactic 01 mission was for the crew to test 13 experiments in zero gravity, collecting biometric data, measuring cognitive performance and recording how certain liquids and solids mix in microgravity conditions.

While the tickets were originally reported to be $250,000 each, Virgin Galactic raised the price to $450,000.