WASHINGTON, Jun 29 Virgin Galactic has completed the first commercial manned suborbital flight, which was broadcast on YouTube.
The mission, dubbed Galactic 01, consisted of three Italians who conducted science experiments in zero gravity, a Virgin Galactic astronaut instructor, and two pilots.
Using the company's unique technology, the VSS Unity suborbital vehicle took off on a VMS Eve aircraft from a spaceport in the US state of New Mexico. At an altitude of about 15 kilometers, the device routinely separated from the ship carrying it and, on its own power, rose to a height of about 80 kilometers, then returned to the ground on a gliding flight. The entire flight lasted several hours, while the crew experienced only a few minutes of weightlessness.
The first manned suborbital flight of VSS Unity took place in July 2020, the crew included the owner of the company, British billionaire Richard Branson .
After the flight, Virgin Galactic billed itself as «the world's first commercial space line» (similar to an airline), whose goal is «to introduce people around the world to the love and excitement that space flight brings.» Branson's company was just over a week ahead of the first manned launch by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, which also develops suborbital space tourism.