Book your tickets to space for $450,000

Richard Branson-led Virgin Galactic is set to launch its first-ever commercial spaceflight service soon. The spaceflight company has already announced the first group of passengers that will be on board the Galactic 01 flight. Last month, Virgin Galactic completed its final test flight to suborbital space – a first in nearly two years. In July 2021, the company sent its last spaceflight which also had Virgin’s CEO Richard Branson, along with three other employees, on board.

According to a report, about 800 tickets have already been sold over the past decade for the commercial version of the flight. The report notes that the initial batch of tickets were sold for $200,000 each. Meanwhile, the latest tickets now cost $450,000 per person.

Galactic 01: Flight details
Virgin Galactic’s first-ever commercial flight named Galactic 01 will carry four passengers and two pilots. The commercial space flight will blast off from Spaceport America in New Mexico, US. This flight will also carry 13 experiments for collecting medical and cosmic radiation data and studying fluid dynamics.

“Virgin Galactic’s research missions will usher in a new era of repeatable and reliable access to space for government and research institutions for years to come,” said Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier.

Virgin Galactic’s suborbital spaceflight system consists of two elements. One of them is a carrier plane known as VMS Eve while the other part which is named VSS Unity is a SpaceShipTwo space plane that will carry six passengers and two pilots.

Eve will drop Unity after reaching around 50,000 feet of altitude. Then the spaceplane will blast its way to suborbital space. This will allow passengers to experience a few moments of weightlessness.

Galactic 01: Crew details
The company’s first commercial mission crew will include Virgin Galactic’s astronaut Colin Bennett and Col. Walter Villadei. The mission will also include Italian Air Force’s Lt. Col. Angelo Landolfi and the nation’s National Research Council engineer Pantaleone Carlucci.

In this mission, Carlucci will be responsible for collecting data for multiple scientific investigations during their flight. Mike Masucci and Nicola Pecile will be the two VSS Unity pilots.

Earlier, in another statement, the company said: “With scientific payloads on board, the spaceflight will showcase the value and power of the unique suborbital science lab that Virgin Galactic offers.”

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