Virgin Galactic, founded in 2004 by entrepreneur Richard Branson, made its first commercial space flight on June 29, 2023. On board the VSS Unity spacecraft were two pilots, a Virgin Galactic instructor and three passengers - Italian citizens, representatives of the air force and scientific community of this country.

The flight lasted about 15 minutes and reached an altitude of more than 80 kilometers, which is considered a spacewalk by American standards. During this time, the passengers were able to experience weightlessness, admire the view of the Earth from a height and conduct a number of scientific experiments, in particular, to study human cognitive abilities in microgravity.

This flight was made possible thanks to the unique technology of launching the spacecraft with the help of Eve carrier aircraft. After gaining the necessary altitude, VSS Unity separates from Eve and turns on its own engines, accelerating almost vertically upwards.

The cost of a ticket for such a flight is from 250 to 450 thousand dollars. The company plans to increase the number of launches to 400 per year after expanding its fleet of spacecraft. However, despite the successful launch, Virgin Galactic's shares unexpectedly fell in price.

Experts believe that investors fear a repeat of the fate of another Branson project - Virgin Orbit, which declared bankruptcy in April this year. However, Virgin Galactic says it is committed to developing space tourism and is confident of commercial success.

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