Tag: Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Nears Operational Return With Upgraded Spaceplane Fleet

Space News reports, “Virgin Galactic said May 14 it remains on track, technically and financially, to start commercial flights of its next-generation suborbital spaceplane before the end of the year. In a first-quarter earnings call, company executives said work on its first SpaceShip vehicle is on schedule, with the completed airframe recently moving from its assembly hangar to a testing hangar at its production facility near Phoenix.”
Full Story (Space News)

Virgin Galactic on Track for Production of New Spaceplanes

Space News reports, “Virgin Galactic says production of its new suborbital spaceplanes remains on track to allow commercial flights to begin in the middle of next year as it contemplates restarting ticket sales. The company spent much of a May 15 earnings call talking about the technical progress it has made in the assembly of its first Delta-class vehicles, or SpaceShips, in areas such as structures, propulsion and avionics.”
Full Story (Space News)

Virgin Galactic Chalks Up 7th Commercial Sub-Orbital Space Flight

CBS News reports, “Two pilots, a Turkish research astronaut and three private citizens rocketed to space and back Saturday aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity spaceplane, enjoying spectacular views of Earth and about three minutes of weightlessness before gliding back to touchdown in New Mexico. It was the company’s 12th piloted up-and-down sub-orbital flight.”
Full Story (CBS News)

Virgin Galactic Launches First Suborbital Mission of 2024

Space News reported that Virgin Galactic “conducted its first suborbital mission of 2024 on Jan. 26 as the company prepares end flights of its current spaceplane.” The VSS Unity spaceplane, “attached the VMS Eve mothership aircraft, took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico at 12 p.m. Eastern.” Unity “separated about 45 minutes later, igniting its hybrid rocket engine.” The flight “carried four customers for the first time, along with its two pilots.
Full Story (Space News)

 

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#Galactic06 Recap
(Virgin Galactic; YouTube)

Richard Branson Says He Will Not Invest More Money into Virgin Galactic

CNN reports that shares of Virgin Galactic, “the space tourism venture founded by Richard Branson, are plunging after the British billionaire said he has no plans to invest more money in the company as he says it has ‘sufficient funds’ already.” This news contributed to Virgin Galactic’s stock falling 16% at market open on Monday. Virgin Galactic “has had a landmark year, flying its first customers to the edge of space after years of waiting.” But the company “has also been in a state of flux, having just laid off about 20% of its staff and working to introduce a new line of suborbital spacecraft that will supplant the vehicle it’s spent more than a decade developing.”
Full Story (CNN)

Virgin Galactic Launches 5th Commercial Flight

Spaceflight Now reported that the first of two Falcon 9 missions SpaceX “is planning for Sunday carried into orbit the largest batch of second-generation Starlink satellites to be launched from the West Coast.” The Falcon 9 “lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2 a.m. PDT (5 a.m. EDT / 0900 UTC) with 22 satellites aboard.” The California launch “will be followed on Sunday by another Starlink delivery mission carrying 23 satellites, which will launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:45 p.m. EDT (2345 UTC).” The Starlink 7-6 mission “was the first time a Falcon 9 has carried 22 of the so-called V2 Mini satellites from the West Coast.” Previously, missions from there “had been limited to 15 or 21 Starlinks, depending on the orbit.” On the East Coast, a Falcon 9 “launched 23 V2 Minis a week ago on Oct. 21, one more than the previous maximum load for a mission from the Cape.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

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Virgin Galactic-05
(NASASpaceflight; YouTube)