Energy News
ROCKET SCIENCE
Virgin Galactic finally takes its first paying customers to space
Virgin Galactic finally takes its first paying customers to space
By Issam AHMED
Washington (AFP) June 29, 2023

Virgin Galactic successfully flew its first paying customers to the final frontier Thursday, a long-awaited achievement that puts it back on track in the emerging private spaceflight sector.

Italian Air Force officers unfurled their nation's flag and peered out windows at the curve of Earth while enjoying a few minutes of weightlessness at 52.9 miles (85.1 kilometers) above sea level.

"It was a beautiful ride," Colonel Walter Villadei told reporters at a press conference, adding that his favorite moment was seeing the contrast between the black of space and the planet beneath.

The mission dubbed Galactic 01 began when a giant, twin-fuselage "mothership" aircraft took off from a runway at Spaceport America, New Mexico, around 8:30 am local time (1430 GMT).

The carrier plane gained high altitude, then around 40 minutes later released a rocket-powered plane, called VSS Unity, which soared into space at nearly Mach 3.

Fifty miles is considered the border of space by NASA and the US Air Force, though the internationally recognized boundary, known as the Karman Line, is 62 miles high.

Villadei was joined in the cabin by Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi of the Italian Air Force, Pantaleone Carlucci of the National Research Council of Italy, and Colin Bennett of Virgin Galactic.

There were also two pilots on the spaceplane, and two on the carrier plane.

Unity later glided back safely to Earth, a livestream showed.

The flight came almost two years after Virgin Galactic's founder Richard Branson flew to space in a test flight meant to usher in a new era of lucrative space tourism.

But the company subsequently faced setbacks, including a brief grounding by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which found the Branson flight deviated from its assigned airspace and Virgin Galactic did not communicate the "mishap" as required.

Later, lab testing revealed certain materials used in its vehicles had fallen below required strength margins, necessitating upgrades to the fleet.

The company ended its spaceflight pause with a successful test in May, paving the way for Thursday's mission. In total, it ran five test flights before Thursday's commercial flight.

- Monthly flights -

The Galactic 01 crew were tasked with conducting 13 supervised and autonomous experiments, and collecting data on their suits and sensors in the cabin.

Experiments included measuring radiation levels in the under-studied mesosphere, and how certain liquids and solids mix in microgravity.

Villadei explained that researchers wanting to work in microgravity currently only have two options: parabolic airplane flights, where passengers experience a few seconds of weightlessness, and missions to the International Space Station, which last six months.

Virgin Galactic thus offers a "gap filler," he said, and the size of the spaceplane allowed for larger experiments than could be fit in a rocket.

Founded in 2004, Virgin Galactic has sold around 800 tickets for seats on future commercial flights -- 600 between 2005 and 2014 for $200,000 to $250,000, and 200 since then for $450,000 each.

Movie stars and celebrities were among the first to snap up seats, but the company's program suffered a disaster in 2014 when a spaceplane on a test flight broke apart midair, killing the copilot and seriously injuring the pilot.

The company is now looking to the future. The next mission, Galactic 02, is set for August, and then it hopes to make monthly space hops after that.

- Branson, Bezos and Musk -

Virgin Galactic competes in the "suborbital" space tourism sector with billionaire Jeff Bezos's company, Blue Origin, which has already sent 32 people into space using a vertical lift-off rocket.

But since an accident in September 2022 during an unmanned flight, Blue Origin's rocket has been grounded. The company promised in March to resume spaceflight soon.

Elon Musk's SpaceX meanwhile has collaborated with partner companies to send paying customers higher up, into Earth orbit or to the International Space Station.

But chartering a SpaceX rocket is a much more costly affair. Tickets for the ISS in joint SpaceX-Axiom Space missions are reported to run into tens of millions of dollars.

Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
ROCKET SCIENCE
Spain delays rocket launch until Sept over wildfire risk
Madrid (AFP) June 27, 2023
The maiden flight of Spain's Miura 1 rocket, twice suspended in recent weeks, has now been delayed until September over fears its launch could start a wildfire, its developer said Tuesday. Built by private Spanish startup PLD Space, the rocket had initially been scheduled for take-off from El Arenosillo, a coastal military base in the southwestern province of Huelva, on May 31, but was called off due to high winds. It was then aborted for a second time on June 17 due to a last-minute technical ... read more

ROCKET SCIENCE
International Maritime Organization nations agree to 2050 net zero emissions goal

U.N. finds developing countries need major financial commitment for cleaner energy

EU eyes withdrawal from fossil-friendly energy treaty

Germany's new big hope against warming - heat pumps

ROCKET SCIENCE
China, Russia pledge $1.4 bn for lithium plants in Bolivia

Norway's quest for 'black gold' from used car batteries

Dual-use rechargeable battery

Towards efficient lithium-air batteries with solution plasma-based synthesis of perovskite hydroxide catalysts

ROCKET SCIENCE
New transmission line to carry wind energy electricity from Wyoming to Nevada

Brazil faces dilemma: endangered macaw vs. wind farm

Spire to provide TrueOcean with weather forecasts for offshore wind farm development

Sweden greenlights two offshore windpower farms

ROCKET SCIENCE
Algorithmic breakthrough unlocks path to sustainable technologies

NGO accuses Chinese renewables firms of abuses in 18 countries

Two studies report: Perovskite-silicon tandem cells that break the 30% efficiency threshold

Chemists discover why photosynthetic light-harvesting is so efficient

ROCKET SCIENCE
Ukraine nuke plant safety fears in spotlight

U.N. watchdog: No evidence of explosives at Ukraine nuclear plant

IAEA requests more access to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in hunt for explosives

Fukushima water release plan clears last regulatory hurdle in Japan

ROCKET SCIENCE
New technology will let farmers produce their own fertilizer and e-fuels

Clean, sustainable fuels made 'from thin air' and plastic waste

In Iowa, Asa Hutchinson touts measured approach to green energy transition

Carbon mitigation payments can make bioenergy crops more appealing for farmers

ROCKET SCIENCE
TotalEnergies CEO says COP28 chief can press oil nations on climate

UAE climate chair urges oil firms to slash emissions

Spending levels on oil, gas ignore efficiency gains, consultant group says

U.S. liquefied natural gas exports expected to outpace rivals this year

ROCKET SCIENCE
UN highlights 'vicious cycle' of climate impacts for Latin America, Caribbean

Yellen urges 'direct' talks, US-China climate collaboration

German climate reform hit by vote delay; Austria court rejects children's climate lawsuit

Climate change spells 'terrifying' future: UN rights chief

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.