Virgin Galactic Set to Launch First Private Passenger Spaceflight on August 10th

Virgin Galactic is set to welcome civilians on board its spacecraft after successfully completing its inaugural commercial spaceflight. The company is now preparing for its first private passenger flight, Galactic 02, which is scheduled for August 10th. While the identities of the passengers remain undisclosed, three individuals will join the regular crew. Those interested can tune in to a live stream of the event on the company’s website.

The first commercial flight, Galactic 01, took off at the end of June. However, all three passengers were Italian government employees (two from the Air Force and one from the Research Council) conducting microgravity research. While it’s not clear what the civilian crew of 02 are doing, they could be tourists this time.

The company has stepped up its operations in recent months after numerous delays in previous years. Although Galactic 02 is only Virgin’s seventh space flight, it will be the third in 2023. The company says it will create a “regular cadence” for the flights, and you can expect them to become relatively routine if this trip goes as planned.

A better frequency is important for the company’s finances. Virgin has been operating at a loss for years and will lose more than $500 million in 2022. The company won’t recoup those losses anytime soon, even at $450,000 per ticket, but paying customers are key to cushioning the blow and supporting space travel. .

Blue Origin and SpaceX have already flown civilians into space and higher than the 50 miles Virgin flies. However, they have not prepared regular departure schedules for tourists. SpaceX’s hot trips won’t happen until the company can finish testing the Starship, and Blue Origin expects to resume flights after a rocket failure in 2022. In this regard, Virgin may be the closest to meeting its tourism targets – as long as it maintains the momentum it will set this summer.