Photo: Virgin Galactic
The 2019 calendar is packed with rocketst est flights, as the world once again moves to look foer its future into the stars. Last week, Virgin Galactic kicked off the party when it launched the VSS Unity in its fifth powered test flight in the skies over the Mojave desert in California.
The ship reached the edge of space once again, after the milestone it achieved last December, but this time things were different.
First, the Unity was a lot heavier than last time, carrying with it a wealth on NASA research payloads. But it also carried a third member of the crew for the first time, Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor, Beth Moses, who officially became the first woman to fly on board a commercial spaceship.
It is the first time the two pilots - Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci – take someone for a ride in their ship, but that’s something they’ll have to get used to because space tourism is what the Unity was meant for.
Despite being heavier than ever before – and closer to actual operational capacity - the ship also flew faster and higher than it ever did before: Mach 3.04 and an altitude of 295,007 ft. (89 km).
That didn't stop Beth Moses from becoming the first ever person to float freely in weightlessness in space, onboard a commercial spaceship.
“Flying the same vehicle safely to space and back twice in a little over two months, while at the same time expanding the flight envelope, is testament to the unique capability we have built up within the Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company organizations,” said the soon-to-be first tourist to space Richard Branson.
“Having Beth fly in the cabin today, starting to ensure that our customer journey is as flawless as the spaceship itself, brings a huge sense of anticipation and excitement to all of us here who are looking forward to experiencing space for ourselves.”
The VSS Unity is a space-capable ship that launches horizontally at 50,000 feet (15 km) from the underbelly of a carrier. It has a capacity of six passengers and two crew and comes as a bullet-shaped cylinder measuring 60 feet in length (18 meters).
When fully operational, Branson will sell minutes-long trips to space to those willing to pay around $200,000 for a ticket.
First, the Unity was a lot heavier than last time, carrying with it a wealth on NASA research payloads. But it also carried a third member of the crew for the first time, Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor, Beth Moses, who officially became the first woman to fly on board a commercial spaceship.
It is the first time the two pilots - Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci – take someone for a ride in their ship, but that’s something they’ll have to get used to because space tourism is what the Unity was meant for.
Despite being heavier than ever before – and closer to actual operational capacity - the ship also flew faster and higher than it ever did before: Mach 3.04 and an altitude of 295,007 ft. (89 km).
That didn't stop Beth Moses from becoming the first ever person to float freely in weightlessness in space, onboard a commercial spaceship.
“Flying the same vehicle safely to space and back twice in a little over two months, while at the same time expanding the flight envelope, is testament to the unique capability we have built up within the Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company organizations,” said the soon-to-be first tourist to space Richard Branson.
“Having Beth fly in the cabin today, starting to ensure that our customer journey is as flawless as the spaceship itself, brings a huge sense of anticipation and excitement to all of us here who are looking forward to experiencing space for ourselves.”
The VSS Unity is a space-capable ship that launches horizontally at 50,000 feet (15 km) from the underbelly of a carrier. It has a capacity of six passengers and two crew and comes as a bullet-shaped cylinder measuring 60 feet in length (18 meters).
When fully operational, Branson will sell minutes-long trips to space to those willing to pay around $200,000 for a ticket.
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