Virgin Galactic completed a launch and landing Thursday with its first three passengers on “Galactic 01.”
The space tourism company, founded by billionaire Richard Branson in 2004, reached a maximum altitude of 52.9 miles above Earth during the commercial flight, the company said.
“Che volo fantastico! An historic moment – @virgingalactic’s first commercial spaceflight completed. Ben fatto,” Branson tweeted after the craft’s safe return — which translates into “What a fantastic flight” and “Well done.”
The VSS Unity aircraft took off and landed at Spaceport America, New Mexico, where hundreds of onlookers awaited its return.
The flight included two Italian Air Force officers, Col. Walter Villadei and Lt. Col. Angelo Landolfi.
Villadei celebrated by unfolding an Italian flag while weightless.
Landolfi is a doctor who has trained previously as a crew surgeon for Russian cosmonauts.
Pantaleone Carlucci, an engineer with Italy’s National Research Council, was also on board.
Colin Bennett, a Virgin Galactic astronaut instructor, was in the cabin to access the comfort and function of the flight, the company said.
“What a beautiful landing and a perfect way to complete our first commercial flight and our first dedicated science mission. Congratulations to everyone on board,” Virgin Galactic executive Sirisha Bandla said upon touchdown, according to Space.com.
In a press conference after the flight, it was revealed the crew experienced a few minutes of zero gravity during the more than one-hour voyage. The top speed was 2,209 mph, twice the speed of sound, the company said.
Virgin Galactic has been losing money since Branson announced his intention to fly tourists. It has sold about 800 tickets for future flights, CNN reported. The prices range from $250,000 to $450,000 per ticket. The company has said it can start tourist flights on a regular basis in the near future.
“That’s going to be a big sea change when that occurs,” Mike Moses, the company’s president of spaceline missions and safety, told Space.com last month. “I’m really looking forward to that from my commercial operations perspective. That’s one of the reasons I joined this company, was to get to a place where space travel is a lot more routine for more folks.”
Despite the successful flight, the company’s stock was trading down on the New York Stock Exchange. It was off about 2% at $4.23 per share as of 3:10 p.m. CT.
