VIRGIN Galactic has sent its first paying clients into space.
The company’s first commercial trip, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, is a research mission with passengers paid for by the Italian Air Force and successfully launched on Thursday.
The trip unfolded in phases. It all started at Virgin Galactic’s spaceport in New Mexico, where passengers board the VSS Unity which is connected beneath the wing of a gigantic twin-fuselage mothership named VMS Eve.
VMS Eve then took off at 10.30am EST, barreling down a runway before ascending to more than 40,000 feet.
IThe VSS Unity was then released at 11.30am ET after reaching its assigned altitude and firing its rocket engine for around one minute as swooping directly upward, vaulting for the stars successfully.
Future Virgin Galactic flights are planned to feature a variety of high-profile clients. Tickets initially started at $200,000 a seat, but are now averaging $450,000.
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