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Virgin Galactic customers who have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a trip to space are finally being rewarded.
The company, founded by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, will operate its first commercial flight, Galactic 01, tomorrow.
Prior to the maiden voyage, the four passengers completed a rigorous training program at Virgin Galactic’s ‘astronaut school’.
Behind-the-scenes footage shows the crew preparing for the mission, including test flights, safety training and a flight escort.
The flight departs tomorrow at 10:30am ET (3:30pm BST).
Prior to the maiden voyage, the four passengers completed a rigorous training program at Virgin Galactic’s ‘astronaut school’.
The ‘Galactic 01’ flight will see four passengers aboard VSS Unity for a 90-minute flight to conduct a series of 13 suborbital science experiments.
“We are launching Earth’s first commercial spaceflight line with two dynamic products: our scientific research and astronaut private space missions,” said Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic.
“This next exciting chapter for Virgin Galactic is driven by innovation, determination and dedication to deliver an unparalleled and truly transformative customer experience.”
Colonel Walter Villadei is a senior member of the Italian Air Force, who will use his experience to prepare for a future trip to the International Space Station.
Although Colonel Villadei was trained as a cosmonaut in Russia, it will be his first time flying into space.
In 2022, he was selected for training in Houston to prepare for future spaceflight with Axiom Space, the company that arranges “private astronaut” missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
Colonel Villadei will also act as backup crew member for the Axiom Mission 2, with an initial agreement already signed to reserve his place on the mission, which is scheduled for late 2023.
Behind-the-scenes footage shows the crew preparing for the mission, including test flights, safety training and a flight escort
This image shows how VSS Unity will take its passengers to the edge of space. Virgin Galactic has adopted a revolutionary system that allows VSS Unity to act as both a winged vehicle or a capsule, whichever is more useful in different stages of reentry
Pantaleone Carlucci – a pilot and technical engineer from Italy’s National Research Council – will conduct tests to determine human performance metrics during the flight into space.
Carlucci and the three other crew members will perform a number of tests during the 90-minute flight, including testing cosmic ray-measuring equipment and studying various materials in microgravity conditions.
The cabin of the SpaceShipTwo vehicle VSS Unity – the rocket-powered spaceplane that houses Virgin Galactic’s passengers – will be converted into a suitable suborbital science lab to conduct the experiments.
Galactic 01 will be followed by a second commercial spaceflight, ‘Galactic 02’, in early August 2023, with monthly spaceflights thereafter.
Virgin Galactic completed its final test flight in May when it sent a crew of four company employees more than 50 miles above the Earth’s surface.
The ‘Galactic 01’ flight will see four passengers aboard VSS Unity for a 90-minute flight to conduct a series of 13 suborbital science experiments
The flight departs New Mexico tomorrow morning and takes approximately 90 minutes
Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi will also conduct tests, but these will be in the area of cognitive performance in microgravity, studying the mixing of liquid and solid.
Virgin Galactic has sold about 800 tickets for its space journey over the past decade, with the first batch costing $200,000 (£156,000) each, but they now cost $450,000 (£350,000) each.
Virgin Galactic’s launch method differs from SpaceX and Blue Origin, which perform dramatic vertical rocket launches just like NASA.
Virgin Galactic uses an aircraft carrier named White Knight Two with two pilots that take off from a runway and then reach great heights.
At just under 10 miles (50,000 feet), White Knight Two releases his rocket-powered manned spaceplane VSS Unity, which ignites its rocket engine and soars even higher.
VSS Unity can reach the limit of space as defined by the US Air Force and NASA by going over 80.5 km above sea level.
However, it cannot go above the Kármán line, the FAI-defined 100 km space limit.
The last of the four crew members is Colin Bennett, an astronaut instructor at Virgin Galactic, who has the most important job of all: making sure the quality of the experience is like traveling aboard the VSS Unity.
Bennett is also a lead astronaut instructor responsible for training and preparing the passengers.
Founded in 2004, Virgin Galactic conducted its first successful flight into space with VSS Unity in December 2018.
The spaceplane, which was crewed with two pilots, reached space for the first time according to the US definition of the space boundary.