CEO Michael Colglazier said the latest flight – the 25th test conducted by Richard Branson's space tourism venture – was the last before Virgin Galactic opens for business next month.
"The 'Unity 25' mission was a fantastic achievement for everyone at Virgin Galactic," the CEO beamed in a statement."Witnessing our inspiring crew's pure joy upon landing, I have complete confidence in the unique astronaut experience we have built for our customers. Our teams now begin post-flight analysis as well as preparation for 'Galactic 01', our commercial research mission, planned for late June.
Galactic 01 will carry three amateur astronauts from the Italian Air Force studying the effects of microgravity on the body and brain. Tickets for a seat on the VSS Unity spacecraft aren't cheap. Space fans hoping to experience brief weightlessness and a taste of space will have to fill out an application form, and fork over $10,000 upfront just to get Virgin Galactic to consider them for a ticket. The lucky few should expect toVirgin Galactic is not Branson's first aerospace venture.