Virgin Galactic’s seventh commercial research mission took off out of New Mexico on Saturday, its last before the company retires its VSS Unity spaceplane.
The commercial spacecraft embarked on mission “Galactic 07” just after 10:30 a.m. EST at British billionaire Richard Branson’s company base in Spaceport, NM and landed an hour later, according to a news release.
“Watching our pioneering spaceship Unity return from space on its final commercial flight was a breathtaking and proud moment,” said Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic.
Onboard were four astronauts: Tuva Cihangir Atasever from Turkey, Giorgio Manenti from Italy, Anand “Andy” Harish Sadhwani from California and Irving Izchak Pergament from New York.
They reached the edge of space and experiences about three minutes of weightlessness before heading back to Earth.
“I am beyond grateful to have represented my country on ‘Galactic 07’ and conduct groundbreaking research that will impact future space missions,” said Atasever.
The research mission, which reached an altitude of 44,500 feet, brought along experiments to test out including headgear with brain activity monitoring sensors and two insulin pens to examine the ability to administer them in microgravity.
Experiments from Purdue University and University of California, Berkeley were also in tow to monitor fuel slosh in spacecraft tanks and test new 3D printing technology in microgravity.
The company celebrated the VSS Unity’s “unprecedented achievements,” Colglazier said, which builds the momentum for the rollout of its first Delta Class ships in 2026.
Virgin will now turn its attention to the new vessels, and plans to begin test flights in 2025 and launch commercial service in 2026.
The Delta ships will carry six passengers, compared to the Unity’s capacity of four, and seat prices will be set at $600,000 — an increase of about $150,000 — as the company aims to turn a profit, according to the AFP news agency. Virgin lost more than $100 million in the last two financial quarters and laid off nearly 200 people.
Branson’s aerospace and space travel company isn’t expected to be profitable until 2026.
Virgin’s first flight of this year, Galactic 06, brought the first Ukrainian woman to suborbital space but an alignment pin detached unexpectedly during the January mission. It did not jeopardize the crew’s safety but the company and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation.
Eight people were on board when the incident occurred, including four people who paid $450,000 for the out-of-this-world experience.
