Virgin Galactic live updates: Galatic 01 crew safely returns to Earth

The company wants it to mark a new era of space flight being easily accessible.

Last Updated: June 29, 2023, 1:19 PM EDT

Virgin Galactic launched its first fully commercial flight of the SpaceShipTwo space plane called VSS Unity Thursday.

The ship carried four people and launched around 11:00 a.m. ET, which was available to watch via livestream, taking them to the edge of outer space.

The mission, known as Galactic 01, saw the team conduct 13 experiments examining thermo-fluid dynamics and the development of sustainable materials in microgravity conditions.

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Jun 29, 2023, 9:19 AM EDT

What is Virgin Galactic?

Virgin Galactic is a spaceflight company founded by British businessman Richard Branson.

The company says its goal is to take paying customers to the edge of the space, in a similar vein to Jeff Bezos's company Blue Origin.

In 2021, Virgin Galactic received approval from the U.S. government to take customers on spaceflights.