Space News reports Virgin Galactic completed its fourth commercial suborbital space flight on October 6, “carrying three customers that included the first person from Pakistan to go to space. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo vehicle, VSS Unity, took off from Spaceport America attached to its VMS Eve mothership at 11:28 a.m. Eastern. VSS Unity released from the plane at 12:10 p.m. Eastern, flying to an apogee of 87.5 kilometers before gliding back to a runway landing at the spaceport.”
Full Story (Space News)
Tag: space travel
Crew Readies for Virgin Galactic’s Fourth Commercial Spaceflight
SPACE reports that Virgin Galactic “is preparing for its fourth commercial spaceflight mission.” Galactic 04 will “carry a three-person crew accompanied by the company’s head astronaut instructor, as well as the two pilots at the helm of Virgin’s SpaceShipTwo vehicle, VSS Unity.” Their flight “to the edge space is scheduled to take place on Friday, (Oct. 6).” The mission “will take off from Spaceport America in New Mexico.” VSS Unity and its crew “will be brought to altitude by the spaceplane’s double-cockpit carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, which will release VSS Unity at around 50,000 feet (15,000 meters).” After release, a “firing of VSS Unity’s rocket motor will put it on a suborbital trajectory, bringing the space plane and crew to the edge of space for a few minutes of weightlessness and a great view of their home planet.”
Full Story (SPACE)
How Space Travel Affects Astronauts’ Physiology
UPI reports that when astronauts “travel to space, the experience depletes their red blood cells and bone, according to a new study.” Fortunately, it appears their bodies “can eventually replenish them after they’ve returned to Earth, thanks to fat stored in the bone marrow.” University of Ottawa Rehabilitation Physician and Researcher Guy Trudel, one of the authors of the study, said, “We found that astronauts had significantly less fat in their bone marrow about a month after returning to Earth. We think the body is using this fat to help replace red blood cells and rebuild bone that has been lost during space travel.” The new research “builds on Trudel’s earlier work, which found that astronauts’ bodies destroyed 54% more red blood cells during space travel than they normally would on Earth.” It’s known as “space anemia.” The research “is part of MARROW, which is an experiment looking at bone marrow health and blood production in space, with funding from the Canadian Space Agency.”
Full Story (UPI)
AIAA Panel Shows Optimism for Space-Nuclear Power
Aviation Week reports that a panel “of experts assembled by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has expressed optimism that NASA, two cabinet departments and the commercial sector are prepared to address the challenges of embracing space-nuclear power and propulsion.”
Full Story (Aviation Week – Subscription publication)
Richard Branson Defends Space Travel
CNBC reports that Richard Branson spoke to the BBC in an interview and expressed his optimism for space travel, saying that it is “incredibly important” for the Earth. However, many are pushing back against the environmental implications of the growth of rocket launches for space tourism, with a study by the NOAA in June 2022 suggesting “that a significant boost in spaceflight activity may damage the protective ozone layer on the one planet where we live.” Branson answered that criticism by saying, “What Virgin and our principal competitors have managed to do is bring the environmental costs of space travel down dramatically, in terms of carbon cost.” He added that these costs would “come down even further.”
Full Story (CNBC)