All about Virgin Galactic's fourth commercial spaceflight in October
What's the story
Virgin Galactic, a US-based space tourism company, is looking forward to its fourth commercial spaceflight, which is scheduled for October 5.
On that upcoming mission called "Galactic 04," Namira Salim, a Pakistani adventurer, is set to make history as the first Pakistani to travel to space.
Salim will be joined by British advertising executive Trevor Beattie and American astronomy educator Ron Rosano. They will be the 17th, 18th, and 19th private astronauts to fly with the company.
Mission
Galactic 04 mission details
Galactic 04 will carry its three passengers to suborbital space and back. The mission will launch from New Mexico's Spaceport America on October 5.
Pilots Kelly Latimer and C.J. Sturckow will operate the VSS Unity space plane, while Nicola Pecile and Jameel Janjua will control VMS Eve, the carrier plane that lifts Unity off the ground.
After reaching an altitude of about 45,000 feet, Eve will release Unity, which will then ignite its rocket motor to reach suborbital space.
Launch
Chief astronaut instructor Beth Moses will also be onboard
During the space ride, passengers aboard the Unity space plane will be allowed to unstrap from their seats, experience a few moments of weightlessness, and observe the Earth from space.
Unity will then return to Earth, ending the flight with a runway landing at Spaceport America.
Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut instructor, Beth Moses, will also accompany the three paying customers aboard Unity.
Details
Salim's background and accomplishments
Salim, founder and chairperson of the nonprofit Space Trust, is no stranger to adventure.
She holds the distinction of being the first Pakistani to visit both the North Pole in April 2007 and the South Pole in January 2008, according to her website.
Salim was among the first 100 people to purchase a ticket with Virgin Galactic back in 2006 when tickets cost $200,000 (roughly Rs. 1.64 crore). The price has since increased to $450,000 (about Rs. 3.7 crore).
Insights
Virgin Galactic's commercial spaceflights in recent months
Virgin Galactic started taking paying customers to space earlier this year. The company launched its previous spaceflights in June, August, and September respectively.
It's most recent spaceflight Galactic 03 set a record by flying ancient human fossils to space for first time.
Notably, the upcoming Galactic 04 will be Virgin Galactic's fifth space trip in five months, and its ninth overall spaceflight.