The first commercial space flight from Virgin Galactic is completed

Virgin Galactic has finished its first commercial flight after working toward it for more than ten years.

Virgin Galactic has finished its first commercial flight after working toward it for more than ten years. The spacecraft VSS Unity took off from the mothership VMS Eve and ascended to an altitude of around 52 miles, or the edge of space. The Galactic 01 research mission was completed when it touched down at the company's Spaceport America facility close to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, over 15 minutes later.

The Italian government served as the business's initial customer with the intention of undertaking microgravity research. Colonel Walter Villadei of the Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi, a flight surgeon in the Air Force, and Pantaleone Carlucci, a research council member serving as a flight engineer and payload specialist, were all on board. Michael Masucci, a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force, and Nicola Pecile were Unity's pilots. Virgin Galactic trainer Colin Bennett was also there.

For Virgin Galactic, the launch was critical from a business standpoint. The business has been losing money for years, including more than $500 million in 2022 alone, because it has never had paying clients. It previously set a goal of getting 1,000 reservations prior to its initial commercial launch and advertises seats at $450,000 per ticket.