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CNN Business –
Virgin Galactic – the space tourism company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson – has returned its supersonic plane to the edge of space for the first time since 2021, when Branson embarked on his own journey into the cosmos.
The company’s spaceplane, VSS Unity, was carrying two pilots and a crew of four Virgin Galactic employees on Thursday’s test flight, which departed from a New Mexico runway at approximately 11:15 a.m. ET, according to Virgin Galactic Twitter account.
The rocket-powered plane is said to fly to an altitude of about 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) above the Earth’s surface while attached under the wing of a giant twin-hull mothership the company is calling “Eve.” The spaceplane is then supposed to detach from the mother ship, fire its rocket engine and fly straight up with its two pilots at the controls.
Virgin Galactic confirmed just before 12:30 p.m. ET that VSS Unity successfully completed the blast toward space. The spaceplane then rolled back and landed at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
The flights are designed to reach more than 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) above the Earth, at altitudes recognized by the US government as the limits of space.
At the peak of the flight, passengers may have experienced a few minutes of weightlessness, looking out the plane’s windows at Earth’s curved horizon and the blackness of space. From take-off to landing, the missions usually take less than two hours.
Company officials are hoping this will be the final test run before Virgin Galactic can open rides to paying customers at the end of June – after years of promises, missed deadlines and Branson’s sale of a large chunk of its original stake in the company. However, should there be any major problems with Thursday’s test flight, the problems could jeopardize Virgin Galactic’s future or result in lengthy delays.
The company has been here before. Virgin Galactic appeared ready to begin commercial operations after taking Branson alongside three crew members to the edge of space in July 2021, a flight less than two weeks before Branson’s rival Jeff Bezos made his own flight to the edge of space space performed, took place. Branson denied racing with Bezos.
But the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, later launched an investigation into Branson’s flight when it was discovered the spaceplane had gone off course during the spectacular flight.
The six people on Thursday’s test mission include pilots CJ Sturckow and Mike Masucci, and Virgin Galactic employee Jamila Gilbert, a native of New Mexico who works in the company’s internal communications; Chris Hume, flight engineer and son of Jamaican immigrants; Luke Mays, astronaut instructor and former NASA employee; and Beth Moses, the company’s director of astronaut training, who has completed two flights.