New Delhi:- On Thursday, a crew of three experts from Italy boarded a rocket plane to the farthest reaches of space on the first commercial flight of billionaire Richard Branson's space tourism company Virgin Galactic.

In a media release, the company announced that two Italian Air Force officers and an aerospace engineer from the Italian National Research Council completed a successful 90-minute flight to conduct a series of suborbital scientific experiments. The crew included Virgin Galactic astronaut instructors and spaceplane pilots, who took part in the flight dubbed Galactic 101.

The mission marks the beginning of commercial spaceflight for millionaire individuals who can afford to shell out as much as $450,000 to buy a ticket to board Branson's rocket. A science field trip over the New Mexico desert has been completed, and commercial space flights for ticket holders will begin in August and continue monthly, the company said. 

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The crew consisted of two men from the Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei wore a smart suit to measure biometrics and physiological responses. Lt. Col. Angelo Landolfi is the doctor who conducted the tests to measure cognitive ability and the mixing of liquids and solids in microgravity.

Pantaleone Carlucci, an engineer at the Italian National Research Council, was also on board, conducting tests that required wearing sensors to measure heart rate, brain function, and other measurements. Virgin Galactic astronaut instructor Colin Bennett, who led mission training and preparation, also flew with the crew.

The crew will be on board the VSS Unity, which Virgin Galactic said will be piloted by Mike Masucci and Nicola Pecile. The launch is a multi-billion dollar launch that Branson has competed with the likes of Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezo's "Blue Origin is designed to send civilians into space." It took place in the midst of the multi-year space race.

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Branson himself flew a test flight in 2021, and following the completion of the test flight, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded Virgin Galactic for 11 weeks over concerns that the missile had been deflected and launched an investigation.

Two years later, on May 25, Virgin Galactic completed its final test flight, landing at Spaceport America in southern New Mexico after a brief flight into space that included several minutes of weightlessness.

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They are honored to have been selected to support the first space exploration mission by the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council, said Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, in a statement. "Virgin Galactic's exploration mission will usher in a new era in which governments and research institutions will be able to achieve repeatable and reliable access to space for years to come." 

Finally, after 20 years of trial Virgin Galactic is into Space with lots of hopes from the crew members. The crew members flew in a new and first commercial flight by completing its flight testing.