Virgin Galactic's space ride costs Rs. 3.7 crore
Virgin Galactic successfully completed its final suborbital test flight, called Unity 25, on Thursday. With this "fantastic achievement," the California-based space tourism company is now looking to open up commercial space services for the public soon. It aims to start the "first commercial flight" in June. Let's take a closer look at how the company's spacecraft system works.
Why does this story matter?
After almost two years of silence, Virgin Galactic took to space via its final test flight yesterday. The previous time the company sent a space flight was in July 2021. Unity 25 was the fifth time that the company flew to space. With this crucial feat, Virgin Galactic is exhibiting its dominance in the space tourism sector.
Virgin Galactic's air-launch system has two operational vehicles
Virgin Galactic has an air-launch system that can carry both people and research payloads to suborbital space. The company's air-launch system comprises two operational vehicles. One is a two-pilot, six-passenger space plane called VSS Unity and the other is a carrier aircraft known as VMS Eve. During the launch, the Unity module lifts off along with the Eve aircraft.
Passengers will experience weightlessness for few minutes during suborbital flights
When Eve aircraft reaches an altitude of about 50,000 feet, it releases Unity, which then fires up its onboard rocket engines to head to suborbital space. People who are on board Unity will experience a few minutes of weightlessness and get to see Earth from space before making the return trip, which ends with a runway landing.
First commercial flight is booked by Italian Air Force
Virgin Galactic's first commercial flight, which the company aims to fly in June, is booked by the Italian Air Force for research purposes. Currently, the company charges $450,000 per seat (roughly Rs. 3.7 crore). The company has sold roughly 800 tickets in the past decade, and the initial batch was priced at $200,000 each.
Virgin Galactic has ambitious plans for the future
Once Virgin Galactic launches commercial operations, the firm plans to send space flights roughly once per month with the Eve aircraft and Unity. However, the company has bigger plans lined up for the long run. It is developing a new suite of "Delta-class" space planes that will be capable of flying once a week. These new vehicles are expected to enter services in 2026.
Here's a little about the Unity 25 test flight
Talking about the Unity 25 mission, a total of 8 crew members, all of whom are Virgin Galactic employees, were on the flight. Six people flew on the VSS Unity spacecraft while the remaining two piloted the VMS Eve carrier aircraft. Jameel Janjua and Nicola Pecile were in charge of piloting VMS Eve, while Mike Masucci and C.J. Sturckow piloted VSS Unity.
Unity 25 mission lasted roughly 1 hour and 22 minutes
Once released from VMS Eve, the Unity spacecraft reached a maximum speed of Mach 2.94, nearly three times the speed of sound. It reached an altitude of 87.2km, which is high enough to classify as a spaceflight, per NASA and the US Air Force. The mission took off from Spaceport America, New Mexico, and lasted roughly one hour and 22 minutes.
