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: Virgin Galactic
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)
Virgin Galactic Reveals Dates for First Commercial Space Flights
The Street reports that Virgin Galactic has unveiled its inaugural commercial flight dates. “Seats have been assigned for the Virgin Space Ship Unity and for the inaugural Galactic 01, a scientific research mission,” which is “scheduled between June 27 and 30.” The next flight, Galactic 02, is scheduled for August “with the first group of excited space ticket holders.” Initial presale tickets may have “seemed like a steep price but now the going rate for a single ticket is $450,000, more than double the original price.”
Full Story (The Street)
Virgin Galactic’s Four-Member Test Flight Will Take Place This Month
Reuters reports that Virgin Galactic Holdings announced May 8 that its “four-member test flight will take place in May and that it aims to launch its first commercial flight in late June.” Last May, Virgin Galactic “delayed its commercial service to the first quarter of 2023 due to supply-chain crisis and labor shortage. After completing a lengthy upgrade for its centerpiece tourist spacecraft in February, Virgin Galactic re-opened ticket sales for spacecraft flights, setting the price at $450,000 per person with an initial deposit of $150,000.” Mike Moses, president of spaceline missions and safety, said, “Returning to space is what we have all worked towards.” According to Reuters, the “mission crew will consist of Jamila Gilbert, Christopher Hue, Luke Mays and Beth Moses.”
Full Story (Reuters)
Virgin Galactic Aircraft Makes First Flight in Over a Year
Space News reports that Virgin Galactic’s carrier aircraft made its first flight in more than a year on Wednesday as the company looks to start commercial service. The VMS Eve left the Mojave Air and Space Port in California for a flight lasting more than two and a half hours before returning to the airport. This was the first flight for VMS Eve “since it flew to Mojave from Spaceport America in New Mexico in October 2021.” The company “performed an extensive overhaul of the plane while in Mojave, including replacing the center pylon where the SpaceShipTwo spaceplane is attached.”
Full Story (Space News)
Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit Face Challenges
SPACE reports, “Shareholders in Virgin Galactic launched a class action lawsuit with numerous allegations about the space tourism company, which grounded its VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo vehicle and its carrier plane, VMS Eve, for maintenance and upgrade work after a high-profile flight in July 2021 starring Branson himself. The two vehicles are likely to start flying again in early 2023, company officials said recently.” US District Judge Allyne Ross ruled that shareholders could attempt to prove fraud in overpaying for Virgin Galactic’s shares, but the class action’s other claims were dismissed. Virgin Orbit’s regulatory approval is still pending for a Cornwall-based launch originally planned for November. “On Monday, Virgin Orbit lowered its 2022 launch forecast to three excursions (down from a previously estimated range of four to six launches). Its cash on hand has fallen to just $71.2 million, and more than a third of the money remaining ($25 million) came from a Friday (Nov. 4) investment by major shareholder Virgin Group, which is the portfolio of Branson’s businesses.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Aurora Flight Sciences to Build Spaceplane Launch Platform Aircraft for Virgin Galactic
Space News reports that Virgin Galactic announced Wednesday it signed an agreement with Aurora Flight Sciences “to build two new aircraft that will be used as launch platforms for its next-generation suborbital spaceplanes.” The carrier aircraft “will succeed the original WhiteKnightTwo aircraft.” Aurora “will manufacture components of the aircraft at its factories in Columbus, Mississippi, and Bridgeport, West Virginia. Final assembly of the planes will take place at Virgin’s production facility in Mojave, California.” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said, “Our next-generation motherships are integral to scaling our operations. They will be faster to produce, easier to maintain and will allow us to fly substantially more missions each year.”
Full Story (Space News)
Space Tourism is a Growth Industry
The New York Times reported
on space tourism industries such as the passenger flights offered by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. Currently, “the global space tourism market is skyrocketing, with dozens of companies now offering reservations for everything from zero-pressure balloon trips to astronaut boot camps and simulated zero-gravity flights.” However, the Federal Aviation Administration “has yet to approve most out-of-this-world trips, and construction has not started on the first space hotel.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription publication)
Virgin Galactic to Sell Suborbital Flight Tickets to General Public
The Hill reports that Virgin Galactic “will begin selling suborbital flight tickets to the general public starting on Wednesday.”
Full Story (The Hill)
Citizen Astronauts from Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic Commercial Space Missions to Appear Together at 2021 ASCEND in Las Vegas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2021 – Reston, Va. – Astronauts from the three different commercial space experiences that occurred in 2021 will appear on stage together in Las Vegas on Monday, 15 November, during 2021 ASCEND. ASCEND is the interdisciplinary community focused on building humanity’s off-world future faster, powered by AIAA. Confirmed speakers include:
- Blue Origin New Shepard Mission NS-18 (October 2021)
- Glen de Vries, Vice-Chair, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Dassault Systèmes; and Co-Founder, Medidata
- SpaceX Inspiration4 Mission (September 2021)
- Jared Isaacman, Inspiration4 Commander
- Sian Proctor, Inspiration4 Mission Pilot
- Virgin Galactic Unity22 Mission (July 2021)
- Sirisha Bandla, Vice President of Government Affairs, Virgin Galactic; and member of the ASCEND Guiding Coalition
The exclusive gathering of these citizen astronauts to share firsthand accounts of their missions epitomizes the ASCEND spirit of community and global partnership. They will discuss the impact of their missions, as well as their experiences during training, flight, and post-launch. The speakers will appear in person in the following 2021 ASCEND sessions:
Opening Keynote
Speakers: Jared Isaacman, Sian Proctor
Monday, 15 November, 0730–0900 hrs PT
Lunch Plenary Session: Citizen Astronauts
Moderator: Kari Byron, Producer and Television Personality, Mythbusters, White Rabbit Project; Host, Crash Test World
Speakers: Sirisha Bandla, Glen de Vries, Jared Isaacman, Sian Proctor
Monday, 15 November, 1145–1245 hrs PT
2021 ASCEND is set for 8–10 and 15–17 November, showcasing a hybrid blend of in-person programming in Las Vegas (Caesars Forum) and Washington, D.C., and online programming on all six days.
The Public is Invited to Attend 2021 ASCEND
ASCEND is an event open to everyone who loves space. The public is invited to register now at the best rates. The full agenda and confirmed speakers are available at ascend.events.
Registration for in-person attendance is limited and only open until 10 November, to ensure all AIAA Health and Safety protocols are met.
Press Passes Available to Media
Journalists interested in covering the citizen astronauts and the full ASCEND program at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas in person should contact [email protected] for credentialing, or request an Online Press Pass here.
Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About ASCEND
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND promotes the collaborative, interdisciplinary, outcomes-driven community of professionals, students, and enthusiasts around the world who are accelerating humanity’s progress toward our off-world future! For more information, visit ascend.events, or follow ASCEND on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.