Virgin Galactic Launches First Paying Customer Mission to Space

Virgin Galactic, the spaceflight company owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, is finally launching its first ever paying customer mission to space on Thursday. After years of delays and setbacks, the much-anticipated launch of Galactic 01 marks a major milestone in space tourism and a new era of lucrative space exploration.

The 90-minute mission will take off from Spaceport America in New Mexico with a three-member crew from the Italian Air Force and National Research Council of Italy, accompanied by an astronaut instructor from Virgin Galactic. The crew will conduct 13 experiments, including measuring radiation levels in the mesosphere and observing how certain liquids and solids mix in microgravity.

Livestreams of the launch will be available on Virgin Galactic’s website, and the company has already sold around 800 tickets for future commercial flights. This mission will be a major step forward for Virgin Galactic in their competition with billionaire Jeff Bezos’ company, Blue Origin, who have already sent 32 people into space.