Virgin Galactic Announces June 29 Date for First Commercial Space Flight
Virgin Galactic has confirmed that its first commercial spaceflight, Galactic 01, will launch on June 29th. The company announced this on its website.
The Italian Air Force and the Italian National Research Council plan to conduct microgravity research, Virgin said. The mission, called Virtue 1, “will conduct 13 autonomous human experiments that will study biomedical thermofluidic dynamics and the development of innovative and sustainable materials in microgravity,” Virgin Galactic said in a statement.
Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mike Massuci will command Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity spacecraft on its fourth spaceflight. The pilot of the VSS Unity will be former Italian Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Nicola Pecile. Another member of the crew is Colin Bennett, Virgin Galactic Lead Astronaut Instructor.
The company has already scheduled the next flights. Galactic 02 is expected to launch in early August with another commercial crew. After that, Virgin will fly every month, although the details of future missions are not yet known. At least the first two flights will be broadcast live on the company’s website.
