A crew of Italian researchers celebrated a successful launch aboard Virgin Galactic’s first commercial flight that took them more than 80 kilometers above the surface.
Colonel Walter Villadei, Pantaleone Carlucci and Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi collided in the cabin as they flew to the edge of space.
The flight marks a defining moment for Virgin Galactic, which was founded in 2004 for the purpose of space tourism and is valued at $1.31 billion, as it enters commercial service after several years of development setbacks.
The “mothership,” an aircraft carrier named VMS Eve, and a spaceplane took off from Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport America in New Mexico at 10:45 a.m. ET.
The rocket plane, SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity, reached speeds of Mach 3 within seconds of being released by Eve at 11:30 a.m. ET and blasted toward the edge of space.
Unity shut down as soon as it reached space, allowing the men to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and epic views of the final frontier.
The crew also held an Italian flag while hovering in the cabin.
A crew of Italian researchers celebrated a successful launch aboard Virgin Galactic’s first commercial flight that took them more than 80 kilometers above the surface
Unlike Branson’s rivals, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, this flight was not crewed by wealthy individuals or celebrities shelling out hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for the experience.
The focus of the Galactic 01 mission was to test 13 zero-gravity experiments, which were collected biometric data, measured cognitive performance, and recorded how certain liquids and solids mix in microgravity conditions.
However, the tickets cost $250,000 each, but Virgin Galactic has raised the price to $450,000.
Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin also use rockets to launch capsules into space, while Branson chose to take a different approach with airborne launches.
Once Virgin Galactic’s planes reach an altitude of about 14,000 feet, the mothership releases the spaceplane, which will then blast toward the final frontier.
The technique has been explored over decades of flight research, including the X-1, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier, and the X-15, the fastest piloted aircraft ever flown, reaching a top speed of 4,520 miles per hour during a 1967 flight.
And it reduces the need for massive amounts of fuel because the craft doesn’t use the rocket’s power to crawl through the dense lower atmosphere.
Cheers erupted around the runway as the larger carrier named VMS Eve blasted off the runway and lifted off the ground with SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity strapped tightly to its underbelly
The rocket plane, SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity, reached speeds of Mach 3 within seconds of being released by Eve at 11:30 a.m. ET and blasted to the edge of space
The crew included three Italian Air Force-funded passengers and one of the company’s astronaut instructors, who previously flew with Branson in 2021
The mothership and spaceplane departed Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport America in New Mexico at 10:45 a.m. ET
Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane was powered by two pilots while the four passengers sat in the cabin waiting for space.
For Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei, designated commander, the flight aboard the spaceplane was part of his astronaut training for a future mission to the International Space Station.
Joining him on Thursday are two Italian colleagues: Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi, a physician and flight surgeon, and Pantaleone Carlucci, a research board member who acts as a flight engineer and cargo specialist.
The crew was completed by their Virgin Galactic trainer, Colin Bennett, the company’s lead “astronaut instructor,” and Unity’s two pilots, Michael Masucci and Nicola Pecile.
One of the Italian researchers wore a special suit that measures biometrics and physiological responses, while another performed tests using sensors to track heart rate, brain function and other metrics in microgravity.
And the third studied how certain liquids and solids mix in that very weak gravity.
The gleaming white spaceplane is designed to detach from its twin-hulled mothership and then fall away as the pilots ignite the vehicle’s engine to send the rocketship into a near-vertical climb at about three times the speed of sound to the darkness of space.