After successful mission, Virgin Galactic targets June for first commercial spaceflight

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following a successful flight to the edge of space on Thursday, space tourism company Virgin Galactic says it is ready to enter commercial service in June.

Virgin Galactic’s aircraft, VMS Eve, departed the New Mexico launch site with a crew of six (plus two aircraft pilots) at around 9:15 am MT. The VSS Unity space plane fell from the plane’s wing just over an hour later, taking off into suborbital space at an altitude of 44,500 feet. The entire mission lasted around 90 minutes.

Thursday’s mission, called Unity 25, concludes a nearly two-year hiatus in the company’s operations. That last flight which took place in June 2021, also carried six people into suborbital space, including the company’s founder, billionaire Richard Branson. While Virgin Galactic did not broadcast the Unity 25 mission, the company kept followers updated on social media. NASA Spaceflight, a private news website with a massive following on YouTube and Twitter, unofficially broadcast the flight live.

The Unity 25 team included Virgin employees Jamila Gilbert, Christopher Huie, Luke Mays and Beth Moses. The VSS Unity space plane was flown by Mike Masucci and CJ Sturckow, while the VMS Eve was commanded by Jameel Janjua and Nicola Pecile.

“The ‘Unity 25’ mission was a fantastic achievement for everyone at Virgin Galactic,” CEO Michael Colglazier said in a statement. “Witnessing the sheer joy of our inspiring crew upon landing, I am confident in the unique astronaut experience we have created for our customers. Our teams are now beginning post-flight analysis as well as preparation for ‘Galactic 01’, our commercial research mission, planned for the end of June.”

The successful flight marks a crucial step for the company, which says it is now finally ready to enter commercial operations next month. Virgin Galactic said in a statement that it had achieved the two main objectives of the mission: conducting a final evaluation of VMS Eve and VSS Unity and evaluating the astronauts’ spaceflight and training experience. That commercial flight will carry three Italian Air Force officers, part of a contract announced in 2019.

Virgin Galactic has been beset by years of technical problems and regulatory delays. The company has reportedly burned through nearly $1.5 billion since 2018, though it still has about $1 billion on track. Virgin Galactic is finally aiming to make a once-a-week flight using its in-development Delta-class suborbital spaceplanes, at a ticket price of around $450,000.

Virgin Galactic is distinguished from Virgin Orbit, a commercial company also founded by Branson that is in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings. Virgin Galactic is a space tourism company, while Virgin Orbit aspired to put small spacecraft payloads into orbit.