Virgin Galactic live video: Richard Branson's space tourism company launches first commercial flight. Watch here

Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company of billionaire Richard Branson, successfully launched its first commercial flight. A team of Italian researchers reached the edge of space Thursday morning, flying aboard Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered plane, as per reports.

Italian Air Force officers unfurled their nation's flag and peered out windows at the Earth's curvature while enjoying a few minutes of weightlessness at 52 miles (85 kilometers) above sea level.

"Welcome to space, astronauts," Virgin Galactic's Sirisha Bandla said in a livestream.


The mission dubbed Galactic 01 began when a giant, twin-fuselage "mothership" aircraft took off from a runway at Spaceport America, New Mexico, around 8:30 am local time (1430 GMT).

The carrier plane gained high altitude, then around 40 minutes later released a rocket-powered plane, called VSS Unity, which soared into space at nearly Mach 3.

Fifty miles is considered the border of space by NASA and the US Air Force, though the internationally recognized boundary, known as the Karman Line, is 62 miles high.



Inside the spaceplane's cabin were Colonel Walter Villadei and Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi of the Italian Air Force, Pantaleone Carlucci of the National Research Council of Italy, and Colin Bennett of Virgin Galactic.

There were also two pilots on the spaceplane, and two on the carrier plane. The stream showed Unity later gliding back safely to Earth.

The flight came almost two years after Virgin Galactic's founder Richard Branson flew to space in a test flight meant to usher in a new era of lucrative space tourism.

But the company subsequently faced setbacks, including a brief grounding by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which found the Branson flight deviated from its assigned airspace and Virgin Galactic did not communicate the "mishap" as required.

The company ended its spaceflight pause with a successful test in May, paving the way for Thursday's mission. In total, it ran five test flights before Thursday's commercial flight.

FAQs

Q1. Who is Virgin Galactic founder?
A1. Billionaire Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Galactic space tourism company.

Q2. What do we know about Virgin Galactic space tourism?
A2. Two years back Virgin Galactic's founder Richard Branson flew to space in a test flight meant to usher in a new era of lucrative space tourism. The company ended its spaceflight pause with a successful test in May, paving the way for Thursday's mission.