Virgin Galactic announced today that it is targeting September 8 for the launch of its third commercial spaceflight, Galactic 03. The flight will take three paying customers to and from suborbital space from Spaceport America in New Mexico.
The three passengers are the first of Virgin Galactic's group of "Founder" astronauts, who bought their tickets as early as 2005. They will fly with Colin Bennett, one of Virgin Galactic's astronaut instructors.
Galactic 03 will use Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity spacecraft, which will be carried aloft by the company's VMS Eve carrier aircraft. Unity will then fire its rocket motor to reach suborbital space, where the passengers will experience a few minutes of weightlessness and see the Earth from a unique perspective.
The flight is a major milestone for Virgin Galactic, which is one of several companies vying to make space tourism a reality. The company has already completed two successful test flights with crewmembers on board, and it is hoping to begin regular commercial operations later this year.
The price of a ticket on Virgin Galactic's spaceflights is currently $450,000, but the company has said that it expects to lower the price in the future.
The launch of Galactic 03 is a major step forward for the commercial space tourism industry, and it is sure to generate excitement among space enthusiasts around the world.