“It’s more than a space flight, it’s a lifetime experience,” Virgin Galactic’s website promotes the start of its commercial operations in space.

What will space travelers actually see? The British billionaire’s company Richard Branson It reached the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space in 90 minutes.

The second Galactic 02 flight already has a scheduled date, which will be in August. And he has a long list of interested parties, at least 800 people, who have already bought tickets, which started at $200,000 per passenger, but have risen to $450,000 per seat on the craft that resembles a large private jet.

The mission, dubbed Galactic 01, left the Spaceport America base in the desert state of New Mexico.

A huge plane took off from a conventional runway at 8:30 a.m. local time.

About an hour later, at an altitude of about 15 km, the ship let go.

He started his engine and accelerated vertically. For a few minutes, in zero gravity, passengers could release themselves from their seats and float in the cabin.

The aircraft then glided back to land on the same runway.

The first suborbital flight carrying three passengers of Italian aviation developed a scientific research journey and the effects of microgravity on the human body. The crew conducted experiments in medicine, advanced materials, fluid physics and physiology.

Richard Branson, next to one of his prototypes and in a spacesuit, at the New York Stock Exchange in 2019. JOHANNES EISELE (AFP) Photo: AFP

Branson made this space trip himself in July 2021. Immediately afterwards, the US Aviation Agency (FAA) shut down the ship to investigate a trajectory anomaly during this flight.

Virgin Galactic then announced it was halting operations to improve the device, but the hiatus lasted longer than expected.

In May, the company performed its last test flight.

Virgin Galactic’s space program is also years behind schedule, partly due to an accident in 2014 that killed a pilot.

monthly flights

“Virgin Galactic’s research missions will usher in a new era of repeatable and reliable access to space for government and research institutions,” said Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic.

In August it will fly a second mission, Galactic 02, and after that Virgin Galactic promises spaceflights every month.

After the completion of the first Galactic flight, Richard Branson’s company Virgin, employees celebrated the successful mission.

Some Virgin Galactic card holders have been waiting for more than a decade for the chance to visit the edge of space; and most will have to wait a long time.

Unity can only carry a few passengers at the same time at a rate of one trip per month.

other entrepreneurs

The company competes with billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, which also offers short suborbital flights and has already sent 32 people into space.

But since an accident in September 2022 during an unmanned flight, his rocket has been grounded. Blue Origin promised to resume spaceflight “soon” in March.