Virgin Galactic Flies Its First Tourists to the Edge of Space

Space tourists, (L–R) Anastatia Mayers, Jon Goodwin, and Keisha Schahaff pose for photos before boarding their Virgin Galactic flight at Spaceport America, near Truth or Consequences, N.M., on Aug. 10, 2023.Andrés Leighton/AP Photo

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M.—Virgin Galactic rocketed to the edge of space with its first tourists Thursday, including a former British Olympian who bought his ticket 18 years ago and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean.

The space plane glided back to a runway landing at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, after a brief flight that gave passengers a few minutes of weightlessness.