Virgin Galactic launched the first commercial flight into space – Kommersant
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The Virgin Galactic suborbital spacecraft set off on its first commercial flight. The mission, designated Galactic 01, was attended by Colonel Walter Villaday and Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi of the Italian Air Force, Pantaleone Carlucci, an engineer with the Italian National Research Council, and a pilot for Virgin Galactic. During the mission, they intend to conduct a series of scientific experiments and observations.
The VSS Unity took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico at 10:30 local time (17:30 Moscow time). At an altitude of 15 km, the ship must disconnect from the carrier aircraft and continue the flight on its own. VSS Unity can rise 80-100 km above the Earth, up to the so-called Karman line, which is considered the boundary between the earth’s atmosphere and space. Commercial flights are supposed to be launched up to an altitude of 80 km.
In May Virgin Galactic carried out launch of manned suborbital spacecraft VSS Unity for the first time since 2021. This was the sixth manned flight of this ship, in July 2021 took place flight with the participation of Mr. Branson. The company expects to conduct one launch per month. Virgin Galactic has already sold more than 800 tickets, now they cost $450,000. The next launch is scheduled for early August.
In April about bankruptcy announced Mr. Branson’s other space company is Virgin Orbit. While Virgin Galactic was originally created for tourist flights into space, Virgin Orbit specialized in launching satellites into orbit.
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