The first ever commercial spaceflight from Richard Branson's space tourism company has finally been given a launch date this month

Virgin Galactic will blast off into the sky between the 27th and 30th of June, ferrying three researchers from Italy into space on the 'Galactic 01'.

After that, a second flight will take place in August before the company begins offering monthly spaceflights.

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Before you start packing your snorkel, though, there's a catch: tickets cost a sky-high £352,170 ($450,000), which isn't exactly the kind of bargain you'd get with Ryanair.

The Virgin Galactic flight has been scheduled just months after Richard Branson's other private space firm, Virgin Orbit, went bust following a disastrous launch from Newquay airport in Cornwall.

The firm has so far sold more than 800 tickets, which will take passengers 80km into the sky where they can float around in zero gravity for a few minutes.

It's technically the edge of space according to NASA, but you'd hope for that money they'd be taking you to the Moon at the very least.

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Richard Branson told LADBible in January that he thinks it could be a 'few decades' until ordinary members of the public can fly to space.

He said: "I mean, normally, I talk ahead of myself, but I think that before it becomes like commercial airline travel it's going to take a few decades.

"But what I can say is we'll do our best to speed it up. I'm getting on and I'd like to see it. We'll go as quickly as we can."

Virgin Orbit was Sir Branson's attempt at launching a SpaceX-style satellite company which could take objects into orbit.

But the firm was forced to fold and sell its assets after its first rocket launch in the UK failed to reach orbit.

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