Virgin Galactic successfully flew its first paying customers to the final frontier Thursday, a long-awaited achievement that puts it back on track in the emerging private spaceflight sector.
Italian Air Force officers unfurled their nation’s flag and peered out windows at the curve of Earth while enjoying a few minutes of weightlessness at 52.9 miles (85.1 kilometers) above sea level.
“It was a beautiful ride,” Colonel Walter Villadei told reporters at a press conference, adding that his favorite moment was seeing the contrast between the black of space and the planet beneath.
The mission dubbed Galactic 01 began when a giant, twin-fuselage “mothership” aircraft took off from a runway at Spaceport America, New Mexico, around 8:30 am local time (1430 GMT).
This still image from a Virgin Galactic video shows the Galactic 01 mission spacecraft launching the first commercial flight from Spaceport City in New Mexico on June 29, 2023. – Virgin Galactic on June 29 began commercial spaceflights, a major milestone for the company founded in 2004 by British billionaire Richard Branson. Its first paying customers are a three-member crew from the Italian Air Force and National Research Council of Italy, with a fourth seat occupied by a Virgin Galactic astronaut instructor. (Photo by Handout / Virgin Galactic / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / VIRGIN GALACTIC” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / Virgin Galactic” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS /
The carrier plane gained high altitude, then around 40 minutes later released a rocket-powered plane, called VSS Unity, which soared into space at nearly Mach 3.
Fifty miles is considered the border of space by NASA and the US Air Force, though the internationally recognized boundary, known as the Karman Line, is 62 miles high.
This still image from a Virgin Galactic video shows Galactic 01 mission crew members from the Italian Air Force display the Italian flag as they reach space during the first commercial flight from Spaceport City in New Mexico on June 29, 2023. – Virgin Galactic on June 29 began commercial spaceflights, a major milestone for the company founded in 2004 by British billionaire Richard Branson. Its first paying customers are a three-member crew from the Italian Air Force and National Research Council of Italy, with a fourth seat occupied by a Virgin Galactic astronaut instructor. (Photo by Handout / Virgin Galactic / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / VIRGIN GALACTIC” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / Virgin Galactic” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS /This still image from a Virgin Galactic video shows the Galactic 01 mission spacecraft returning to Earth after the first commercial flight from Spaceport City in New Mexico on June 29, 2023. – Virgin Galactic on June 29 began commercial spaceflights, a major milestone for the company founded in 2004 by British billionaire Richard Branson. Its first paying customers are a three-member crew from the Italian Air Force and National Research Council of Italy, with a fourth seat occupied by a Virgin Galactic astronaut instructor. (Photo by Handout / Virgin Galactic / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / VIRGIN GALACTIC” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / Virgin Galactic” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS /
