The testing phase is now done for Virgin Galactic, and the private space company from Sir Richard Branson will soon launch its first commercial spaceflight before June ends. The Galactic 01 mission will bring four passengers on its famed launch, boarding the company's VSS Unity on its way to orbit, centering on suborbital experiments. 

A new joiner in the commercial space race, Virgin Galactic's announcement centered on not just one mission, but the company's lineup to expect in the coming months. 

Virgin Galactic's First Commercial Spaceflights Coming this June

(Photo : Virgin Galactic)

Virgin Galactic announced that its first commercial spaceflight is about to commence, and this will fly the VSS Unity, its dedicated workhorse for its missions, by June 29. The company only previously provided a launch window from June 27 to 30, but later confirmed their exact dates. 

The company would have four passengers on board, and this includes Italian Air Force members and a participant from the National Research Council. Virgin Galactic calls this mission the "Galactic 01," and it would also mark its entry into the commercial spaceflight industry alongside SpaceX, Blue Origin, and more. 

Virgin Galactic said that the crew would embark on a 90-minute flight towards the Earth's orbit, and would focus on the intended studies. The company said that it transformed the interior of the VSS Unity to accommodate equipment and such.

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Galactic Missions to Bring Astronauts to Space 

This mission will also not be its last, as by early August, Virgin would launch the subsequent Galactic 02 which will be a private crew. 

After these initial flights, there would be a monthly launch from Virgin Galactic, but no further details were revealed.

Virgin Galactic's Space Ventures

The massive space race from newcomers in the industry began in 2021, and back then, SpaceX was leading the commercial spaceflight industry, centering on its contracts with NASA and other companies. The fight was between Virgin Galactic from Sir Richard Branson and Blue Origin from Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos.

Both companies fired their rockets around mid-2021 and both also brought their CEOs and founders along with the crew. 

What these flights centered on is reaching orbit for its first crewed flight tests, also seeing successes for both companies. 

However, after this event, Virgin Galactic faced an FAA suspension and was not permitted to fly any more missions amidst the investigation. It was previously claimed that the Unity-22's past mission was dangerous, and may have put the crew's life in danger. 

Now, Virgin Galactic is back on track to its goals and aspirations for the company, to bring people to space and reach farther destinations with its technology. In this commercial spaceflight, no CEOs or founders will join, but serves as a service provider to space agencies that need it, for them to conduct missions and studies in orbit.

Related Article: Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity is Back, Another Test with Humans Soon Before Commercial Flight Offers