Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is a private spaceflight company that aims to provide suborbital spaceflights to tourists and scientific researchers. The company was founded in 2004 by Sir Richard Branson and is headquartered in New Mexico, USA. Virgin Galactic's spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, is designed to carry up to six passengers and two pilots on a suborbital flight that reaches an altitude of over 80 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The spacecraft is launched from a carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo, and after reaching a certain altitude, it is released and ignites its rocket engine to propel itself to space. The passengers experience weightlessness and can see the curvature of the Earth before returning to the ground. Virgin Galactic has completed several successful test flights and plans to begin commercial operations in the near future.
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