Virgin Galactic will launch its first spaceflight in two years on its reusable Unity spaceplane on Thursday, May 25, but the exact timing of the launch will depend on when its carrier plane lifts off.
Suborbital spaceflight company Virgin Space Ship (VSS) Unity will launch a crew of eight to suborbital space and back from its Gateway facility at Spaceport America in New Mexico in a test designed to set the stage for scheduled commercial spaceflight to come. Unity 25 test flightVirgin Galactic’s first spaceflight since its billionaire founder Sir Richard Branson and a crew flew aboard the Unity 22 mission in July 2021, is the last verification flight before the company’s Galactic 1 commercial mission in June, the company said.
“Unity 25 is the final evaluation of the complete spaceflight system and astronaut experience before opening for commercial service in late June,” Galactic Virgo said in a statement. The flight will launch the unit SpaceShipTwo space plane from the air using its carrier aircraft, the Virgin Mother Ship Eve. Here’s when and how the mission will take place.
Related: Meet Virgin Galactic’s Unity 25 Launch Crew
What time is Virgin Galactic’s Unity 25 suborbital launch?
Virgin Galactic officials are targeting a takeoff time of 8:00 a.m. Mountain Time (10:00 a.m. EDT or 2:00 p.m. GMT) on May 25 Since Spaceport America for the Unity 25 mission. That’s when we expect the company’s WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, called Eve, to lift off from Spaceport America and begin its climb to launch altitude.
This take-off time could change, as Virgin Galactic said it’s not until the window opens to begin the flight. Virgin Galactic has a 9-hour window for Unity 25 operations on May 23 according to an FAA Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for spacecraft recovery operations that begin to 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EDT (1400-2300 GMT). It repeats on Friday May 26 at the same times, suggesting that Virgin Galactic has at least one day back up for the flight.
Can I watch Virgin Galactic’s Unity 25 spaceflight?
Not at this time. Virgin Galactic has not announced any plans for a public webcast or livestream and members of the media are not expected to be on hand to broadcast live views of the launch, according to a company representative.
It’s also unclear how much real-time information Virgin Galactic will share for the mission. In the past, Virgin Galactic has released pre-flight, liftoff, in-flight launch and landing footage.
However, a Virgin Galactic spokesperson told Space.com that the company plans to release details of the test fight, including images and video, after the flight. So we’ll have to stay tuned for that.
If this test flight goes well, Virgin Galactic is expected to livestream its first commercial spaceflight in late June and invite media to attend the event.
Who’s boarding Virgin Galactic’s Unity 25 spaceflight?
Virgin Galactic will fly a crew of eight on the Unity 25 mission, a group that is a mix of experienced spaceflyers, pilots and rookie flyers.
The two Unity VSS pilots on this mission are Michael Masucci and CJ Sturckow, both of whom have flown in space before. Here’s a look at the two men.
Pictures: The first space tourists
- Michael Masucci: Masucci will serve as the commander of Virgin Space Ship (VSS) Unity and has completed multiple suborbital spaceflights with Virgin Galactic. His first trip to space was a test flight in 2019. He has flown on 80 different types of aircraft since 1982 and has accumulated over 10,000 flight hours in his career.
- CJ Sturckow: A former NASA astronaut and retired Marine Corps colonel, Sturckow will serve as a Unity pilot and has served on four NASA space shuttle missions to orbit, commanding two of them. He has flown 65 different types of aircraft and has over 8,700 hours of flight experience. His first trip to space was on NASA’s STS-88 mission in 1998, and he later flew on STS-105, STS-117, and STS-128 missions, leaving NASA in 2013. first flown in suborbital space on Unity in December 2018. test flight.
Four passengers will travel to suborbital space on Unity during the flight, but only one of them has ever flown in space. Here’s a look at the quartet on the flight.
- Jamila Gilbert: A native of New Mexico, Gilbert, 34, will serve as a mission specialist on Unity Flight 25 and launch into space just an hour’s drive from his hometown of Las Cruces. She joined Virgin Galactic in 2019 and studied linguistics, anthropology and studio art at New Mexico State University. Gilbert is Hispanic and would become one of the first 100 women in space with flight and is also an artist. You can see more of his art at his website JamilaGilbert.com.
- Christophe Huie: Huie, 35, a Virgin Galactic flight science engineer, will serve as a mission specialist on Unity 25 and joined the company in 2016. Prior to that, he worked at The Spaceship Company, which built the SpaceShipTwo vehicles for Virgin Galactic before being acquired. Huie holds an aerospace engineering degree from the University of Maryland and is the son of Jamaican immigrants. He grew up in Florida, co-founded Virgin Galactic’s Black Leaders in Aerospace scholarship and training program, and will become the 19th black astronaut to reach space. Virgin Galactic said.
- Luke Mays: A former director of payload operations at NASA, Mays is an astronaut instructor with Virgin Galactic who will make his first spaceflight on Unity 25. Prior to joining Virgin Galactic, he spent 25 years in the aerospace industry, including several years to train astronauts for NASA. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
- Beth Moses: The only veteran Virgin Galactic astronaut on the passenger list for Unity 25, Moses is making his third spaceflight on Unity and has been the first woman to fly in the space plane and earn his astronaut wings. Moses developed Virgin Galactic’s astronaut training program and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University.
THE Spaceplane VSS Unity will be transported to lose altitude by his Virgin Mother Ship VMS Eve, a massive twin-boom carrier plane that will be piloted by two veteran pilots. Here’s who’ll be flying Eve during her own takeoff and landing.
- Jameel Janjua: Janjua, who will command the VMS Eve carrier aircraft during Unity Flight 25, has been flying aircraft since 1995. He has flown 60 different aircraft types and accumulated 4,800 flight hours during his career.
- Nicola Pecile: Pecile is a VMS Eve pilot on Unity Flight 25 and has flown 170 different aircraft since beginning his flying career in 1991. He has a total of 7,700 flight hours, according to Virgin Galactic.
How long is Virgin Galactic’s Unity 25 spaceflight?
Virgin Galactic hasn’t released a detailed schedule for its Unity 25 test flight. However, the company has said in the past that an average SpaceShipTwo suborbital mission is expected to take 90 minutes from takeoff to landing.
The flight begins at liftoff, with SpaceShipTwo Unity tucked under its VMS Eve mothership and tethered to a pylon between the carrier aircraft’s twin booms. Eve will pilot SpaceShipTwo to an altitude of 50,000 feet (15,000 meters), where it will jettison the Unity spaceplane and fly away to a safe distance.
Aboard Unity, Massucci and Sturckow will ignite the spaceplane’s hybrid rocket engine and soar into space, reaching an altitude of at least 80 kilometers, which the FAA and the US military have recognized as the frontier. from space.
At the height of the flight, Unity and her crew will experience approximately four minutes of weightlessness, at which time Gilbert, Huie, Mays, and Moses can leave their seats, float in the cabin, and gaze at Earth through Unity’s large round windows.
Once those four minutes are up, passengers will strap into their seats for the return to Earth, with Massucci and Sturckow relying on a unique “feathering” system that folds its twin tail booms like a steering wheel to stabilize Unity. during the return. . The spaceplane will then make a runway landing at Spaceport America to complete the flight.
Editor’s note: Visit Space.com on May 25 for full coverage of Virgin Galactic’s Unity 25 spaceflight.