Virgin Galactic Successfully Launches Tourist Spaceflight - Galactic 07 Mission

Virgin Galactic completed its second flight this year by launching the Galactic 07 mission, taking Turkish, U.S., and Italian passengers to the edge of space. The space tourism company’s VSS Unity spaceplane reached an altitude of about 55 miles before returning to Spaceport America. This marks the final flight before their new fourth-generation spaceships debut in 2026.

Virgin Galactic flew four tourists to the edge of space and back aboard its spaceplane, marking the second flight this year, the Richard Branson-founded company said on Saturday.

The Galactic 07 mission carried Turkish, U.S. and Italian passengers to an altitude of about 55 miles (88.51 km) on a flight lasting slightly more than an hour. The space tourism company said that mission took off from and returned to Spaceport America in New Mexico on Saturday. It marked Virgin's VSS Unity spaceplane's final commercial flight as the company is now producing its fourth-generation spaceships expected to enter commercial service in 2026, the company said in a statement.