Virgin Galactic set for first spaceflight in nearly two years

Virgin Orbit Holdings

25/05/2023 11:00

By Joey Roulette
       WASHINGTON, May 25 (Reuters) - Virgin Galactic  SPCE.N ,
the space tourism firm founded by Richard Branson, is set to
launch its first spaceflight mission in nearly two years on
Thursday, a final planned test flight with a crew of six before
it kickstarts its long-awaited commercial service.
    The company's Unity 25 mission from Spaceport America, New
Mexico, comes 22 months after billionaire Branson and other
Virgin Galactic employees rode to the edge of space aboard the
company's centerpiece SpaceShipTwo spaceplane. That was a
high-profile mission it hoped would open the door to routine
flights soon after.
    But a safety probe into Branson's flight by the U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration hampered the company's near-term plans,
as did a lengthy spacecraft upgrade period that lasted longer
than Virgin Galactic originally anticipated.
    Virgin Galactic is now targeting a morning flight window
beginning 10 a.m. Eastern time. The twin-fuselage carrier plane,
named VSS Eve, will take off from a runway at the New Mexico
site carrying the suborbital SpaceShipTwo, named VSS Unity.
    If all goes well, Virgin Galactic hopes to fly its first
commercial mission in late June, a long-delayed research flight
chartered for the Italian Air Force. The company then expects to
carry out a mission roughly every month.    
    Virgin Galactic pilots Jameel Janjua and Nicola Pecile will
fly the carrier aircraft VMS Eve and drop the spaceplane    
when it reaches around 50,000 feet in altitude. The spacecraft,
once untethered, will ignite a rocket engine and climb to an
altitude in microgravity of roughly 50 miles, the
U.S.-recognized boundary of Earth's atmosphere.
    The test mission, lasting roughly 90 minutes from takeoff to
the spaceplane landing after spending three minutes in
microgravity, follows the type of rides Virgin Galactic intends
to provide for a backlog of some 800 customers. Most have paid
between $250,000 and $450,000 for a ticket.
    The company in April conducted a successful glide test with
VSS Unity, dropping it at 47,000 feet for a free-fall back to
its runway, without having ignited its engine to go toward
space.
    Mike Masucci and CJ Sturckow will pilot the spaceplane. In
the cabin will be the company's chief astronaut instructor Beth
Moses, astronaut instructor Luke Mays, senior engineering
manager Christopher Huie and Jamila Gilbert, internal
communications senior manager.

 (Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by David Gregorio)
 ((Joey.Roulette@thomsonreuters.com; 7034696632;))