knowledge

• First supersonic flight: Chuck Yeager was the first person to break the sound barrier in level flight on October 14, 1947. 
• First flight into space: April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin
• How many astronauts have been above the Karman Line since the first flight into pace: Since the first spaceflight in 1961, over 650 people have been in space; the exact number varies depending on the definition, but included at least 655 people by November 2025. 
• How many space tourists have been in space: • Orbital flights (more than one orbit of Earth): • Seven tourists visited the International Space Station (ISS) between 2001 and 2009. • In September 2021, an all-civilian crew flew into Earth orbit with SpaceX. • Inspiration for all • 
• First spacewalk by a space tourist in 2024
  
• Suborbital flights (short trips into space): • Flights with companies like Virgin Galactic 37 passengers and Blue Origin have taken over 86 passengers into space in 36 Missions • These flights are generally shorter and less expensive than orbital flights. 
• How long weightlessness with Blue Origin: On a Blue Origin flight, passengers experience approximately four minutes of weightlessness during a suborbital flight lasting about ten minutes. This weightlessness occurs after the capsule reaches the Kármán line (100 km altitude), the boundary to space. 
• How long weightlessness with Virgin Galactic: On a Virgin Galactic flight, passengers experience weightlessness for several minutes, typically about three to five minutes. The entire flight lasts approximately one and a half to two hours, with the actual weightlessness phase occurring at altitude.
• Study to Evaluate Technical and Regulatory Feasibility of Operating from Italy's Grottaglie Spaceportcon

Commercial flights for public passengers

Novespace created Air Zero G in 2012 to share the experience of weightlessness with 40 public passengers per flight, using the same A310 ZERO-G as for scientific experiences.[12] These flights are sold by Avico, are mainly operated from Bordeaux-Merignac, France, and intend to promote European space research, allowing public passengers to feel weightlessness. Jean-François Clervoy, Chairman of Novespace and ESA astronaut, flies with these one-day astronauts on board A310 Zero-G. After the flight, he explains the quest of space and talks about the 3 space travels he did along his career. The aircraft has also been used for cinema purposes, with Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis for the Mummy in 2017.[

Photo credit by (c) history of aviation and space travel, Inspiration for all, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, Klaus Rainer by AirZeroG