Virgin Galactic's Rocket-Powered Spaceplane Reaches the Edge of Space with Paying Customers
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Galactic 01 from Virgin Galactic — the brainchild of British billionaire Sir Richard Branson — is the company's first trip with paying customers
A group of Italian researchers reached the edge of space on Thursday, hours after taking off from the New Mexico desert on a quest to deliver Virgin Galactic’s mission of bringing commercial spaceflight to all.
Two members of the Italian Air Force and an engineer with the National Research Council of Italy are the first paying customers for the trip, termed “Galactic 01,” according to CNBC.
The researchers hope to conduct a series of microgravity experiments while they experience weightlessness, the Associated Press reports.
Virgin Galactic — the brainchild of British billionaire Sir Richard Branson — will proceed with a second mission in August, per CNBC.
Related: Virgin Galactic Begins Selling 'Transformational' Tickets to Space for $450,000
The company aims to fly its spacecraft, VSS Unity, once a month, the outlet reports.
The suborbital flights last a minimum of 90 minutes and reach 2,600 mph while transporting four passengers to the edge of space for incredible views, according to the program's website.
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By midday Thursday, the spacecraft had begun gliding back to Earth to land, CNBC reported.
Virgin Galactic has a backlog of about 800 people who have already purchased their tickets to experience space flight.
Initial tickets cost about $200,000 but recent prices are much higher, the company told PEOPLE last year.
"Spaceflight reservations are a total price of USD $450,000," a spokesperson told PEOPLE last year. "Following an initial deposit of USD $150,000, customers will make their final payment before their flight."
However, the company's mission has come under fire in the past due to safety concerns.
According to The Guardian, Virgin Galactic investors are suing the company, alleging defects in the spacecraft have not been disclosed, which has led to ongoing delays.
And Branson's own first trip into near-space was investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2021 after pilots on the flight went "off trajectory," after they were allegedly alerted to yellow and red warning lights as the crew of six flew to space.
The lights, according to the New Yorker, were intended to notify the pilots that the ship wasn't vertical enough to properly glide back down to Earth with enough momentum after reaching space.
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