Virgin Galactic Set to Launch Second Commercial Spaceflight in August

Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company founded by billionaire Richard Branson, has announced the flight window for its second commercial spaceflight. The flight, known as Galactic 02, will take off from New Mexico’s Spaceport America on August 10, 2023. It will be the company’s seventh spaceflight and its third in 2023.

Galactic 02 will follow on from Virgin Galactic’s recent inaugural commercial spaceflight, Galactic 01, which took place on June 29, 2023. That flight carried four crew members and two pilots to suborbital space and back, reaching an altitude of more than 50 miles (80 kilometers). The crew included three researchers from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council, who conducted microgravity experiments during the flight.

The crew for Galactic 02 has not been revealed yet, but it will include three private citizens and one astronaut instructor. They will experience several minutes of weightlessness and enjoy panoramic views of Earth and space from the cabin windows. The flight will last about 90 minutes from takeoff to landing.

Virgin Galactic is one of the few US-based space companies, along with Blue Origin and SpaceX, catering to the growing demand for commercial space operations and space travel. The company has more than 600 customers who have reserved tickets for future flights, at a price of $450,000 per seat. The company aims to establish a regular cadence of flights and eventually fly hundreds of people to space every year.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, virgin.com, interestingengineering.com, msn.com, space.com