Watch Virgin Galactic's First Passenger Space Flight Launch

British businessman Richard Branson will make the first passenger flight on the device today, July 11

from Virgin Galactic. Using the company’s technology, the VSS Unity suborbital spacecraft will take off on a WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, which is controlled by two professional pilots. After undocking from the aircraft under thrust, VSS Unity will enter a suborbital trajectory and, upon reaching a given altitude, will make a horizontal landing. Zero gravity will be present for 4 minutes.

The businessman noted that he wants to be the first to experiencepassenger flight before starting to sell tickets in 2022. The device will go on an hour and a half flight, it will start at about 17:00 Moscow time, but may be delayed due to weather. Branson and the pilots will use Under Armor's ammunition, which has been specially developed for the company.

Virgin Galactic first announced plansmake a passenger flight into space in 2004. Then they planned to implement them by 2007. However, technical difficulties, including a fatal crash during a test flight in 2014, have made the space project one of the most complex in the company's portfolio.

“I wanted to fly into space since I was a child, and II hope hundreds of thousands of other people over the next 100 years can do the same,” Branson said. — Why don’t they fly into space? Space is extraordinary. I want people to be able to look at our beautiful Earth and come home and work really hard to try to do something magical with it, to take care of it.”

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