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Virgin Galactic will launch a spaceplane Thursday at least 250,000 feet above Earth, with windows around the cabin and four seats for tourists.
The SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity is 18 meters long with a wingspan of 8 meters, designed with a minimalist cabin interior, described as ‘an elegant yet progressive experiential concept’.
The front features a cockpit for two Virgin Galactic pilots to propel the craft to the edge of space, and behind it four paying customers are strapped into individual, light gray seats made from the highest quality aluminum and carbon fiber.
Each seat has two personal windows, and several others are in the interior, which has room only for science experiments that will be conducted during the 90-minute flight.
Once the spaceplane reaches the edge of space, it will hover in place for a few minutes to allow passengers to experience weightlessness.
Each seat in the six-person cabin has two personal windows for views of the Earth below and ‘mood lighting’ associated with each stage of spaceflight
The four crew members paid $200,000 each to launch aboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity, which launches from New Mexico at 11 a.m. ET. The price has since risen to $450,000 per seat.
Thursday’s mission, dubbed “Galactic 01,” will be Virgin Galactic’s first commercial flight.
The spaceplane will be attached to the underbelly of the twin fuselage carrier, which will travel to an altitude of 44,500 feet and release the spaceplane.
The VSS Unity spaceplane will then start its engine and climb at least 250,000 feet above Earth – the altitude recognized as the edge of space.
Upon reaching apogee, it deploys a specially feathered tail section to get the correct nose down attitude before returning.
The crew includes Colonel Walter Villadei, Pantaleone Carlucci, Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi and Colin Bennett, plus two Virgin Galactic employees who are also on the spaceplane.
The cabin was designed to “integrate seamlessly with every other aspect of the astronauts’ journey” while being the centerpiece of the design for Virgin Galactic.
The goal was to provide safety without distractions and “provide each astronaut with a level of intimacy necessary for personal discovery and transformation.”
Each seat is also designed with engineered foam and fabrics developed by Under Armor – the athletic apparel company used the same 3D knit in the flight suits.
They are also designed to suit the flight, including a pilot-controlled tilt mechanism that optimizes the astronaut to control G-forces during boost and during reentry.
The cabin appears dark gray, while the seats are a lighter gray with blue accents along the seatbelts.
The SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity will attach to the underbelly of the twin-fuselage VMS Eve carrier, which will travel to an altitude of 44,500 feet and release the spaceplane
The cabin’s design is quite minimalistic – with seats, windows and a large rear-view mirror making up most of the layout – so astronauts can focus on the experience. It can be modified to carry experimental payloads or passengers
“This cabin was specifically designed to enable thousands of people like you and me to safely realize the dream of spaceflight — and that’s incredibly exciting,” Branson said at the official unveiling of the cabin in 2020.
The shift of Earth’s atmosphere to the edge of space will be “abrupt,” said the team behind the cabin’s design.
“You go from the sound of the rocket engines to the absolute stillness of space,” they said.
The cabin contains minimal outside noise to allow astronauts to experience the serenity of the darkness of space and the bright Earth below.
Lighting is also a key feature of the design, with multi-colored LED lights hidden with the ‘Halo’ windows next to and above the astronauts’ seats.
The lights are “used to subtly reflect back and thereby elevate human responses to each of the contrasting stages of flight,” a spokesman said.
Once the carrier reaches 44,500 feet, it will release the spaceplane. VSS Unity then fires up its engine and climbs about 262,000 feet above Earth – the height recognized as the edge of space. Pictured is the mission that Richard Branson took in 2021
As Earth comes into view against the black sky of space, all the lights in the cabin are turned off so people can focus on their home planet below.
Each seat features audio and video from the crew in the front, with flight details and personalized communications.
Virgin said the cabin of the VSS Unity was deliberately made so large that the astronauts could experience weightlessness outside of their seats.
The interior design focuses on this critical part of the experience with soft cabin surfaces and elements that are easy to find and hold in zero gravity.
There are 16 cabin cameras, others in the cockpit and even some outside the spaceship that will capture high-definition images of the spaceflight.
The astronauts share these via posts on social media and make a personal video of it for each traveler.
There are 16 cabin cameras, others in the cockpit and even some outside the spaceship that will capture high-definition images of the spaceflight. Branson and five Virgin Galactic employees made the trip in 2021 (pictured)
During a test flight in May (pictured), four Virgin Galactic employees traveled to the edge of space
To further enhance the experience of hovering in zero gravity, the cabin includes a space travel first: a large, circular mirror on the aft bulkhead.
This is designed to allow the astronauts to see themselves while weightless and illuminated by Earth’s natural brightness.
Michael Colglazier, recently appointed CEO of Virgin Galactic, said this marks an important milestone in the company’s journey into space.
“The interior of the starship cabin is in many ways the design center of the astronaut journey, and what has been created will both facilitate and elevate a uniquely profound and transformative journey for the thousands who will fly,” he said.
The company stopped taking bookings in 2018 and has a backlog of 600 people waiting to go up in the sub-orbital flight – which takes six at a time.
As the fleet expands, the number of people leaving the planet – however briefly – is expected to increase rapidly, which is why Virgin Galactic has launched a ‘small step’ program.
Branson became the first billionaire in space when he made the maiden voyage of the VSS Unity on July 11, 2021, beating Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos, who made a similar journey nine days later.
The Virgin Galactic founder was one of six Virgin Galactic employees aboard VSS Unity for the journey to 280,000 feet.
However, the spaceplane was grounded shortly after the flight due to an investigation when it went off course during its descent back to the runway in the New Mexico desert.
Unlike other companies that use vertical launch rockets, Virgin Galactic uses an aircraft carrier with two pilots that take off from a runway, reach great heights, and drop a rocket-powered aircraft that flies into space before gliding back to Earth.
In September 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was investigating an anomaly in the flight’s descent.
The FAA, which oversees commercial air and spaceflight in the US, found that the spaceplane “deviated from air traffic control clearance” and did so for about a minute and 41 seconds.
Branson and his team have since solved the problem, sending a test crew of four crew members 54.2 miles above Earth’s surface in May to clear the way for Thursday’s first commercial mission, “Galactic 01.”