The first flight ‘Galactic 1’ is planned between 27 and 30 June. Three people will be on the first flight: members of the Italian Air Force. They will conduct scientific experiments on microgravity.
More should follow after the first flight, possibly one per month. This is necessary to make the business profitable. About 800 people have already bought a ticket for a tourist space flight.
Virgin Galactic, which was founded in 2004 in California, has had technical problems in recent years that have delayed its start-up. But after a final test flight in May and some routine inspections of the shuttle, it is now ready for its commercial launch.
The news pushed Virgin Galactic’s stock up 40 percent.