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Virgin Galactic conducted its second commercial spaceflight on Thursday, marking its first voyage with private-paying tourists.
Known as Galactic 02, the spacecraft took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico. It was piloted by CJ Sturckow and Kelly Latimer and carried an additional team member, Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut trainer Beth Moses, who oversaw the mission from inside the cabin, along with three passengers.
The three customers onboard Galactic 02 included British former Olympian Jon Goodwin, as well as Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers from the Caribbean. These two passengers won their seats through a charity fundraising drawing organized by the nonprofit Space for Humanity.
The flight reached an altitude of 80 kilometers, or approximately 262,000 feet, which is recognized by the U.S. as the boundary of space.
Galactic 02 represents Virgin Galactic’s seventh spaceflight to date, and its third since May. The company’s goal is to conduct once-a-month flights with its spacecraft VSS Unity, while also developing a fleet of spacecraft called “Delta-class” that is planned to debut in 2026, with a weekly flight schedule.
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Virgin Galactic employs a two-step “air launch” system for its suborbital spaceflights, providing passengers with a few minutes of weightlessness. This differs from private orbital flights, which are longer, more challenging, and more expensive, as seen with SpaceX, led by Elon Musk. During Virgin Galactic’s second-quarter earnings call, CEO Michael Colglazier addressed concerns about extreme tourism experiences following the Titan submersible tragedy earlier this year.
“In fact, we did not observe any negative impact on Virgin Galactic’s customer base,” Colglazier stated.
The company successfully completed its first commercial spaceflight, the Galactic 01 mission, in June, carrying members of the Italian Air Force.
Virgin Galactic currently has a backlog of approximately 800 passengers. While many of these tickets were sold between $200,000 and $250,000 over a decade ago, the company resumed ticket sales two years ago, with prices now starting at $450,000 per seat.
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