Virgin Galactic launched its first commercial spaceflight Thursday, sending its first four paying passengers into space. The launch marks a major step forward following a failed launch of its first mission in 2021, when passengers—including Virgin Group founder Richard Branson—veered off course and were forced to return to Earth, prompting an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration that grounded the company for several weeks. Branson’s company has been rapidly losing money since then as it tried to ready itself for commercial flight, with the hope of charging $250,000 per seat. Thursday’s launch was funded by the Italian Air Force and included two Air Force personnel, as well as an engineer from Italy’s National Research Council and a Virgin Galactic astronaut instructor. It launched from Virgin Galactic’s spaceport in New Mexico and was expected to reach 50 miles above the earth’s surface—the outer edge of space, according to the U.S. government.
