The success of this flight also bolsters Branson’s efforts in space, after the loss of a prior rocket led to the shuttering of his satellite launch company Virgin Orbit earlier this year. Of the small group of companies providing trips to space, Virgin Galactic is the only one using a space plane instead of a more traditional rocket. “This flight was very important not only for the experiments… but also because we are studying other ways for space access – not just vertical access but horizontal access,” said Italian Air Force Major General Maurizio Cantiello during the livestream. It will carry members of the public, who will pay $450,000 each for the trip. The VSS Unity’s next flight, called Galactic 02, is planned for August this year. This isn’t the first Virgin Galactic launch to reach this altitude – Branson himself did so in 2021 – but it is the first commercial operation. However, NASA and the US Air Force say that anyone who goes beyond 80 kilometres counts as an astronaut. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, which maintains records for human space flight, classifies space as beginning at the Kármán line, 100 kilometres above sea level. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. The 80-kilometre mark has been criticised by some as not being truly beyond the atmosphere. CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 250 Failures: 10 Pending: 112.
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