Italy signs an agreement to fly on VSS Unity for research missions

Enlarge / The VSS Unity spacecraft rockets to space on its first spaceflight. (credit: Virgin Galactic)

On Wednesday, Virgin Galactic signed an agreement with the Italian Air Force to have humans fly on board its suborbital spacecraft and conduct scientific research.

The deal marks the first time a government has bought a ride on a private, suborbital space mission to conduct any kind of human-led experiments. The first research flight could take place as early as next year, the company said.

"We're delighted to work with the Italian Air Force to further space-based research and technology development through this historic mission," Virgin's chief executive, George Whitesides, said in a news release.

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