'VSS Unity' Spacecraft Completes Final Mission Flight | WPN World People News

Virgin Galactic successfully completed the final spaceflight of the VSS Unity spacecraft on June 8 local time. The upgraded new spacecraft is expected to be put into commercial service in 2026.

According to foreign media reports, since its founding in 2004, Virgin Galactic has completed seven commercial spaceflights.
Virgin Galactic mentioned on social platform X: "Galactic07" has returned to Earth. They also noted that the flight crew and spacecraft had safely returned to Spaceport America in New Mexico.

The passengers on this trip were Tuva Atasever from the Turkish Space Agency, Anand Harish Sadhwani, an engine engineer from SpaceX, Giorgio Manenti, an Italian investment advisor, and Irving Izchak Pergament, a New York real estate developer and pilot.

VSS Unity took off from the runway at 8:31 AM local time on the 8th, and after about 50 minutes, ascended to an altitude of approximately 13,500 meters. The spacecraft then separated from its mothership and flew supersonically to the edge of space, where the four passengers on board experienced a few minutes of weightlessness and enjoyed views of the Earth's curvature.

This mission was VSS Unity's last commercial flight. Virgin Galactic's fourth-generation spacecraft is expected to undergo test flights in 2025, with the new fleet anticipated to enter commercial service in 2026.