Virgin Galactic embarks on first spaceflight mission in nearly 2 years

FILE PHOTO: Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane VSS Unity is towed to the hangar after billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson and his crew, reached the edge of space, at Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, U.S., July 11, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A spaceplane from Virgin Galactic blasted off toward the edge of space on Thursday carrying a crew of six, its first spaceflight test in nearly two years as the space tourism firm founded by Richard Branson prepares its long-awaited commercial service.

The company's twin-fuselage VMS Eve carrier plane took off from Virgin Galactic's Spaceport America site around 11:17 a.m. EDT, Virgin Galactic said on Twitter. The craft carried the VSS Unity spaceplane with a crew of six company employees to a planned altitude of roughly 50,000.