The space shuttle was also mounted to a booster or a Boeing 747. Virgin Galactic was founded in 2004, and the aircraft's first version originates from the XPRIZE competition that started in 1996.

He was also a part of the International Space Station's first-ever shuttle flight - the STS-88. He had been an astronaut since 1995, but later hung up his uniform and retired in 2013.

As Virgin Galactic get's ready to launch the VSS Unity, NBC News' Gadi Schwartz gives a closer look on how the shuttle will blast into space. Aug. 10, 2023 Read More ...

In a few short hours, the first space tourist flight from Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic will launch, taking three members of the public into orbit. The launch, dubbed Galactic 02, will ...

Virgin Orbit makes British space history with take-off ahead of rocket launch The Start Me Up mission lifted off from the runway at Cornwall Airport Newquay. Rod Minchin ...

Virgin Galactic launched its sub-orbital spaceplane "Unity" on its first crewed flight in two years, carrying two pilots and four company astronauts to the edge of space in a final test flight ...