Virgin Galactic completes first inaugural commercial spaceflight
Image: Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic yesterday completed its first commercial flight into space- the Galactic 01.
It is the second successful spaceflight in two months.
The crew from…
Image: Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic yesterday completed its first commercial flight into space- the Galactic 01.
It is the second successful spaceflight in two months.
The crew from the Italian Air Force and National Research Council of Italy boarded the VSS Unity at 8:30am MT, for a 90-minute flight to conduct a series of suborbital science experiments on the edge of space.
The altitude at release was 44,500 feet, the apogee was 52.9 miles, the top speed was Mach 2.88 and the landing time was 9:42am MT.
Galactic 02
Virgin Galactic will now begin post-flight inspections and analysis in preparation for its next commercial space mission, Galactic 02, which will bring its unique experience to private astronauts. The mission is scheduled for August, with Virgin Galactic planning monthly flights to space beginning thereafter.
“Today, our team successfully flew six people and more than a dozen research payloads to space in VSS Unity, our unique, suborbital science lab,” said Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier.
He added: “This historic flight was our first commercial flight and our first dedicated commercial research mission – ushering in a new era of repeatable and reliable access to space for private passengers and researchers. Galactic 02, our first spaceflight with private astronauts, is planned for August and we expect VSS Unity to continue with monthly space missions while we simultaneously work to scale our future spaceship fleet for a global audience.”
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