Aircraft carrier VMS Eve is seen in the background shortly after the release of VSS Unity, firing its engine and accelerating during the company’s fourth spaceflight test, Unity 22, with founder Richard Branson on July 11, 2021.
Virgo Galactic
Virgo Galactic is already targeting May 25 for the launch of its next spaceflight, which is both the first in nearly two years since flying founder Sir Richard Branson and the planned final step before commercial service begins.
The mission, dubbed Unity 25, represents the company’s fifth spaceflight to date, launched from Spaceport America in New Mexico. It is a “final assessment” flight, with six Virgin Galactic employees on board for a short trip to the edge of space.
The update comes after a longer-than-expected refurbishment period for the company’s spacecraft: A few months into Branson’s flight, and following an FAA investigation into an accident during his trip, the company paused operations for what was intended to be a ” eight to 10 months” – but in the end it took almost 16 months.
Shares of Virgin Galactic rose as much as 5% in early trading Wednesday following the announcement, before giving up gains to trade on the day. The company reported its first-quarter results earlier this month, which showed losses widened as it financed the development and expansion of its spacecraft fleet.
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In-house pilots Mike Masucci and CJ Sturckow fly spacecraft VSS Unity, while Jameel Janjua and Nicola Pecile fly aircraft carriers VMS Eve. In the passenger cabin are Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses, Astronaut Instructor Luke Mays, Senior Engineering Manager Christopher Huie, and Senior Internal Communications Manager Jamila Gilbert.
Virgin Galactic’s approach to space tourism is to fly to an altitude of about 40,000 feet, release the spacecraft, and fire the engine to climb past 50 miles (or about 262,000 feet) — the altitude the US recognizes as the limit of space.
Known as sub-orbital, this type of spaceflight gives passengers a few minutes of weightlessness, unlike the much longer, more difficult, and more expensive orbital flights performed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. After flying on his own craft in 2021, Branson told CNBC he hopes to fly with SpaceX.
Depending on the outcome and data collected from Unity 25, the company aims to fly its first commercial mission in “late June.”