Virgin Galactic Makes History with First Commercial Sub-Orbital Spaceflight
htn-news.com
Virgin Galactic’s rocketplane, VSS Unity, reached an altitude of 51.4 miles (82.7 kilometers) on June 29, 2023, on its first commercial sub-orbital flight to space.
The flight carried six passengers, including three Italian researchers, and one pilot.
The flight took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico and landed safely back at the same location.
The flight was the first commercial flight for Virgin Galactic and the first to carry paying passengers.
The flight is a major milestone for Virgin Galactic, which has been developing its sub-orbital spaceflight program for over a decade.
The company plans to begin regular commercial flights in the near future.
The flight lasted about 90 minutes.
The passengers experienced about three minutes of weightlessness.
The flight was conducted in a modified version of Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity spaceplane.
The spaceplane was carried to an altitude of 45,000 feet by a carrier aircraft, VMS Eve.
The spaceplane then ignited its rocket motor and climbed to an altitude of 51.4 miles.
The spaceplane then glided back to Earth and landed at Spaceport America.
