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People react as Virgin Galactic’s passenger rocket plane lifts off, during the company’s first commercial flight to the edge of space, at the Spaceport America facility, in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, U.S., June 29, 2023.
Jose Luis Gonzalez | Reuters
Space tourism company Virgo GalacticFounded by Sir Richard Branson in 2004, on Thursday it completed its highly anticipated first commercial spaceflight, dubbed Galactic 01.
The company’s spacecraft, which takes off from Spaceport America in New Mexico, was flown by a pair of pilots and carried four passengers: a Virgin Galactic trainer, to oversee the mission from the cabin, and the first trio of paying customers. The three paying passengers are members of the Italian Air Force. The flight also carried 13 research payloads.
The start of Virgin Galactic’s commercial service comes after years of delays and setbacks. The company previously said that if Galactic 01 were a success, it would plan to conduct its second mission as early as August and then begin flying its spacecraft, VSS Unity, once a month.
Shares of Virgin Galactic fell 13% on Thursday after the successful flight.
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The company continues to raise capital to fund the development of its upcoming Delta-class spacecraft, with the goal of building a fleet of vehicles that can fly each at least once a week.
Virgin Galactic has a backlog of about 800 passengers. Many of those tickets sold more than a decade ago at prices between $200,000 and $250,000, but the company reopened ticket sales two years ago, with prices starting at $450,000 per seat.
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Virgin Galactic completes first commercial spaceflight
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