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Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. completed its Galactic 04 mission Friday, the company’s fifth spaceflight in five months.
The Galactic 04 mission also marked the company’s fourth commercial spaceflight, its fifth spaceflight in 2023 and its ninth spaceflight in total.
Related: Virgin Galactic set for Galactic 04 mission, its fifth spaceflight in five months
The spaceflight company’s VMS Eve mother ship took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico carrying the VSS Unity spacecraft on Friday morning.
Shortly after Virgin Galactic tweeted footage of mothership VMS Eve releasing the spacecraft VSS Unity, the company tweeted an image of Galactic 04’s private astronauts in space. The astronauts are the 17th, 18th and 19th to fly with Virgin Galactic, following in the footsteps of Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson, who was astronaut 01.
Related: Virgin Galactic completes 4th spaceflight in 4 months, but stock sinks to another record low
VSS Unity carried American astronomy educator Ron Rosano, British ad executive Trevor Beattie, and Pakistan’s Namira Salim, founder and executive chairperson of Space Trust, Space.com reports. Salim is Pakistan’s first astronaut, according to Virgin Galactic.
Virgin Galactic’s stock rose 1.9% Friday. The stock is down 52.4% in 2023.
Related: Virgin Galactic makes its first private spaceflight, taking 18-year-old to space
The company completed its fourth spaceflight in four months on Sept. 8, but its stock sank to a record low. The company made its first private astronaut spaceflight on Aug. 10, when the Galactic 02 mission took the second-youngest person ever into space and the first mother-daughter duo.
In June, Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 01 mission transported three crew members from the Italian air force and the National Research Council of Italy into space to conduct research on microgravity. After the Galactic 02 mission, the company said it expects monthly flights to follow.
Related: Virgin Galactic could open up space to ‘everyday people’ says former NASA astronaut
In July, Virgin Galactic reported a second-quarter net loss, which it said was primarily driven by an increase in research and development expenses related to the development of its future fleet.
In a filing in June, the company said it’s seeking to raise $400 million to develop its spaceship fleet and infrastructure and scale up its commercial operations.
