Virgin Galactic—the space company founded by billionaire Richard Branson—is scheduled to take its second fully crewed flight into space Thursday, in the company’s last test flight with employees before it plans to start flying customers next month.
Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is scheduled to take its second fully crewed flight into space ... [+]
Virgin Galactic said Wednesday the objective of Thursday’s trip was to conduct a final assessment of the “spaceflight system and astronaut experience” before it begins commercial service at the end of June.
The flight, which is the company’s fifth to date, will take off from Spaceport America in New Mexico Thursday morning.
Thursday’s flight will mark the first full flight since Branson went to space in 2021. After that flight, the Federal Aviation Administration learned there was a mishap during Branson’s trip to space that caused the spacecraft to deviate from its “assigned airspace,” and opened an investigation into the matter. The regulator then grounded the company’s operations. While Virgin Galactic said operations would be paused for eight to 10 months, the process ended up taking nearly 16 months. During that process, the company conducted a series of pilot-only test flights to ensure the safety issues were resolved.
Virgin Galactic was founded in 2004, and Branson became the first billionaire to fly to space on his own rocket two years ago. The company aims to take well-heeled tourists to the edge of space, with a total cost of $450,000. The planned Virgin Galactic launch comes as other billionaires push to commercialize space-related travel. Last month, Elon Musk’s SpaceX twice attempted to launch its Starship into space. While both attempts failed, Musk said his plan is to one day take passengers to the Moon and Mars. He’s already seen success in previous crewed launches, including last year, when SpaceX sent four astronauts to the International Space Station. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, through his aerospace company Blue Origin, went to space nearly two years ago and is continuing efforts to carry passengers to space.
We estimate Branson is worth $3 billion.
Virgin Orbit, Branson’s satellite launch company, shut down Tuesday after selling its facility leases and equipment to three different companies through an auction. Virgin Orbit had already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April and laid off nearly its entire staff.
Journey Into Space: How The Virgin Founder Became First Billionaire To Fly Own Rocket (Forbes)
Branson’s Virgin Orbit Pauses Operations And Furloughs Nearly Entire Staff (Forbes)