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Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic is launching a new space age, where all are invited along for the ride.

Galactic 01

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Suborbital
Mission: Biology

Suborbital Spaceport America Air launch to Suborbital flight

Research mission for the Italian Air Force, first commercial Virgin Galactic mission.

Updates

Nosu • June 29, 2023, 3:45 p.m.

Successful flight and landing of VSS Unity


Nosu • June 29, 2023, 3:30 p.m.

Release of VSS Unity


Nosu • June 29, 2023, 3:22 p.m.

Setting T-0 to estimated drop time


Nosu • June 29, 2023, 3:08 p.m.

Pushing T-0 to account for the delayed livestream start


LL2 • June 29, 2023, 2:52 p.m.

Livestream has started


SpaceShipTwo

Family:
Configuration:

The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.

Specifications
  • Stages
    1
  • Length
    18.0 m
  • Diameter
    8.2 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    9.0 T
  • Thrust
    310.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    SpaceShipTwo
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    SpaceShipTwo
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

VSS Unity


Active Human Rated Crew On-board: 6 Crew Capacity: 8
Destination: Suborbital
Serial Number: N202VG

VSS Unity, previously referred to as VSS Voyager, is a SpaceShipTwo-class suborbital rocket-powered crewed spaceplane. It is the second SpaceShipTwo to be built and will be used as part of the Virgin Galactic fleet.

SpaceShipTwo Details

Crew


Michael Masucci

Commander - configurations.Country.None - ( VG )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: None
Age: None

Nicola Pecile

Pilot - configurations.Country.None - ( VG )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: March 11, 1973
Age: 53

Colin Bennett

Instructor - configurations.Country.None - ( VG )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: None
Age: None

Angelo Landolfi

Passenger - configurations.Country.None - ( IAF )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: None
Age: None

Pantaleone Carlucci

Passenger - configurations.Country.None - ( CNR )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: None
Age: None

Walter Villadei

Passenger - configurations.Country.None - ( IAF )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: April 29, 1974
Age: 51

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic

(VG)

Founder: Richard Branson Founded: 2004 Successes: 62 Failures: 5 Pending: 1

Agency Type:

Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company within the Virgin Group. It is developing commercial spacecraft and aims to provide suborbital spaceflights to space tourists. Virgin Galactic's suborbital spacecraft are air launched from beneath a carrier airplane known as White Knight Two.

INFO WIKI

Related News

CNBC

Virgin Galactic banks $2 million in quarterly revenue after first commercial spaceflight

Virgin Galactic reported second-quarter losses on Tuesday that were slightly wider the year-ago period, as the space tourism company pushes on toward flying customers on monthly flights after launching commercial service.

SpacePolicyOnline.com

Virgin Galactic Scores Success with First Commercial Spaceflight

Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic finally launched its first commercial SpaceShipTwo flight today. Galactic-01 took four Italians and two Americans across the threshold between air and space for a few minutes […]

SpaceNews

Virgin Galactic completes first commercial SpaceShipTwo suborbital flight

After nearly two decades of development, Virgin Galactic conducted its first commercial SpaceShipTwo suborbital flight June 29.

SpaceNews

SpaceShipTwo to demonstrate research capabilities on first commercial flight

Virgin Galactic is set to conduct its first commercial SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceflight June 29, one that will demonstrate the readiness of the vehicle for commercial operations as well as its role as a research platform.

NASASpaceflight

Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch Euclid; Virgin Galactic to fly crewed suborbital mission

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Air launch to Suborbital flight

Spaceport America


Falcon 9
Success
2 hours, 40 minutes ago
Starlink Group 10-58
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Space Launch System (SLS)
Success
16 hours ago
Artemis II
Launch Complex 39B - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Artemis II is the first crewed mission as part of the Artemis program. Artemis II will send a crew of 4 - 3 Americans and 1 Canadian around the moon …


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 17 hours ago
Starlink Group 10-44
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 3 hours ago
Transporter 16 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Dedicated rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.


Kinetica 2
Success
3 days, 3 hours ago
Demo Flight (Qingzhou Prototype Spacecraft)
Launch Area 140 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch and mission of CAS Space’s Kinetica-2 rocket, with 3 spacecraft on board: * New March 02 (Qingzhou space station cargo resupply …


Electron
Success
5 days, 5 hours ago
Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

The European Space Agency (ESA)'s LEO-PNT (Low Earth Orbit Positioning, Navigation and Timing) demonstrator mission will feature a 10-satellite const…


Long March 2C/YZ-1S
Success
6 days, 10 hours ago
Shiyan 33
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Chinese satellite reported to be for "space environment research" purposes. Actual usage not known.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 15 hours ago
Starlink Group 17-17
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2D
Success
1 week ago
SuperView Neo 2-05 & 06
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Commercial Synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites built by CAST for China Siwei Survey and Mapping Technology Co. Ltd.


Soyuz 2.1b
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
16 x Rassvet-3
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identities uncertain. Batch of 16 Rassvet-3 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Russian Byuro-1440 (Bureau 1440) conste…