20 Years in the Making, Virgin Galactic Finally Sets Date for First Commercial Spaceflight

Virgin Galactic has ambitious plans for its first commercial spaceflight. The company, which was founded in 2004, has been gradually working towards developing its space tourism business for nearly two decades.

Announced on Monday, June 26, the 90-minute “Galactic 01” flight is scheduled to take place just three days from now on Thursday, June 29. The rocket will take off from New Mexico’s Spaceport America, carrying 13 different payloads geared toward suborbital science experiments.

The patrons of Virgin Galactic’s first commercial flight aren’t merely tourists, however, but a mission commander and an engineer from the Italian Air Force and one physician from the National Research Council of Italy. The three-person crew will be joined by Virgin Galactic’s own astronaut instructor.

On the flight, the Italian crew plans to conduct both human-tended and autonomous experiments measuring biomedicine, the use of sustainable materials in microgravity conditions, passenger comfort during the flight and more.

The space company is aiming for its Galactic 01 flight to open the doors to future tourist trips. Currently, Virgin Galactic has a waiting list of around 800 people for its spaceflights, with a single ticket priced at up to $450,000 USD.

Those interested can watch a livestream of the Galactic 01 flight at 9:00 a.m. MT/11:00 a.m. ET on June 29 via the Virgin Galactic website.

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