Virgin Galactic is scheduled to launch its first commercial space tourism flight tomorrow, with three paying passengers on board.
The company announced the names of the passengers on Tuesday, all of whom are researchers from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy.
The tickets reportedly cost $450,000 for the 90-minute trip, which includes about four minutes of weightlessness.
A Virgin Galactic employee who will be assessing the crew’s experience will be in the cabin of the VSS Unity spaceplane, while two pilots will be in the cockpit.
The flight – Galactic 01 – comes two years after Sir Richard Branson and a crew of five flew on the first fully crewed flight by Virgin Galactic on July 11, 2021.
“Virgin Galactic's team and vehicles are ready to fly the company's first customers to space, having successfully completed the Unity 25 space flight and subsequent routine analysis and vehicle inspections,” the company said on June 16.
Virgin Galactic launches passengers from a horizontal spaceport in the New Mexico desert, with a carrier jet that releases the VSS Unity spaceplane at an altitude of 15,240m.
It then climbs to the edge of space, taking the crew 89km above the desert, allowing them to experience the same weightlessness as astronauts do.
With the flight taking off on Thursday, The National explains who the crew members are, what they will be doing aboard the spaceplane and where to watch the live broadcast.
How to watch
Virgin Galactic will share a global livestream of the flight on their website. The broadcast is expected to begin at 7pm, UAE time on the day of the flight (June 29).
Passengers
Coll Walter Villadei
A member of the Italian Air Force, Col Villadei will serve as mission commander on the flight.
He will be wearing a smartsuit that will measure his biometric data and physiological responses to weightlessness.
This suborbital flight is part of his astronaut training for a future space mission to the International Space Station.
Lt Col Angelo Landolfi
Also a member of the Italian Air Force, Lt Col Landolfi will be carrying out research work on the flight.
He will measure cognitive performance and investigate how certain liquids and solids mix in microgravity.
He holds a PhD in legal medicine and forensic science, and previously trained as a crew surgeon as part of a cosmonaut training programme.
Pantaleone Carlucci
Mr Carlucci is an energy engineer and pilot at the National Research Council of Italy.
He will be carrying out tests that involve wearing sensors that record heart rate, brain function and other human performance metrics during space flight.
He will be the flight engineer and payload specialist on the flight.
Crew
Colin Bennett is an employee at Virgin Galactic and is the lead astronaut on this mission, carrying out all training and preparation.
His mission is to assess the research flight experience.
Mike Masucci and Nicola Pecile will be the pilots on the spaceplane.
Kelly Latimer and Jameel Janjua will be the pilots on the mothership that will release the spaceplane once it is at its target altitude.
Joy ride or science work?
While most space tourism flights that have taken place since 2021 have been primarily joy rides, this one seems to involve lots of research work.
There are 13 experiments going aboard this trip.
One of them includes the TESting in Space research by the University of Rome, in which the crew will measure the effects of liquid mixing in microgravity conditions.
Different mixtures have been placed in syringes, which will be combined once the plane reaches the edge of space.
It is hoped the research will help in future in-space manufacturing and biomedical applications efforts.
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Canada
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
