Branson's company is having its first commercial launch Thursday, dubbed Galactic 01. The VSS Unity is taking off from New Mexico attached to a carrier plane, eventually detaching and soaring about 3 times the speed of sound above the earth before coming back down.
Despite the commercial aspect, the trip is more about business than pleasure -- the space vessel will carry members of the Italian Air Force and a research engineer, collecting data while airborne.
UPDATE: Virgin Galactic's first commercial space flight has been deemed a success.
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