Commercial flight operation: Virgin Galactic carries three Italians into space

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With three Italian scientists on board, Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson’s aerospace company, has begun commercial operations in space. The spaceplane VSS Unity lifted off from a spaceport in the US state of New Mexico on Thursday along with the parent aircraft VMS Eve, as live images from Virgin Galactic showed. At an altitude of about 14 kilometers, “VSS Unity” decoupled from “VMS Eve” and began a short all-round flight. The “VSS Unity” then landed back at the spaceport.

Both aircraft also involved several pilots and commanders from Virgin Galactic, in addition to scientists Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi and Pantaleone Carlucci from the Italian Air Force and the Italian National Science Council. During the short flight, the scientists collected data for a dozen experiments. They were also allowed to leave their seats, experience weightlessness and unfurl an Italian flag.

Branson has known competitors

British billionaire Branson has been working with his company Virgin Galactic for about 20 years to launch commercial flight operations – also with repeated setbacks. The next commercial launch is already scheduled for early August, this time with “private astronauts” on board, the company said. Tickets for the tour, which lasts about an hour and a half, should cost around $450,000 (about 400,000 francs), according to the company.

Branson’s company is not the first to offer space travel to wealthy interested people. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (59) and his company Blue Origin have already sent several passengers into space. Another competitor is Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX, which has so far conducted two entirely private missions to the International Space Station (ISS). In July 2021, Branson flew into space in his own spacecraft in a virtual race between billionaires, ten days ahead of Bezos. (SDA)

Source: Blick