On August 4, 2023, Virgin Galactic rocketed its first tourist passengers into space, marking a new era in commercial space travel. The three passengers, Jon Goodwin, Keisha Schahaff, and her teenage daughter Anastasia Mayers, experienced several minutes of weightlessness and stunning views of Earth from the edge of space.
Virgin Galactic's spacecraft, VSS Unity, is carried aloft by a twin-engine aircraft called WhiteKnightTwo. Once Unity reaches an altitude of about 50,000 feet, it is released from WhiteKnightTwo and fires its own rocket engine to reach space.
VSS Unity climbed to an altitude of 55.5 miles (89.3 kilometres) on its flight to space. At this altitude, the passengers experienced several minutes of weightlessness.
They also had the opportunity to admire the curvature of Earth and the blackness of space.
The flight lasted approximately 90 minutes from takeoff to landing. After its rocket engine burned out, VSS Unity glided back to Earth and landed safely at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Virgin Galactic's successful flight with tourist passengers is a major milestone for the company and for commercial space travel as a whole.
It marks the beginning of a new era in which space tourism will become more accessible and affordable.
Virgin Galactic plans to offer regular commercial flights to space in the coming years. The company has already sold tickets to hundreds of customers, who are eager to experience the thrill of space travel.
Virgin Galactic's flights are expected to cost around $450,000 per person. This is a significant investment, but it is still a fraction of the cost of flying into space with a government space agency.
Virgin Galactic's success is also good news for the future of space exploration. The company's spacecraft could eventually be used to transport scientists and other payloads to space, which would help to advance our understanding of the universe.
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