Virgin Galactic Holdings today announced that VSS Unity successfully reached space and returned safely to Earth an hour after leaving the ground, completing its first fully crewed spaceflight.

 

Billionaire Sir Richard Branson was one of the space travellers in the plane. He was accompanied on the mission by Unity's two pilots, Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, and three Galactic employees - Beth Moses, Colin Bennett and Sirisha Bandla.

 

They flew high above New Mexico in the US in the vehicle that his company has been developing for 17 years.

 

"I have dreamt of this moment since I was a kid, but honestly nothing can prepare you for the view of Earth from space," he said in a press conference after touching down. "The whole thing was just magical."

 

The trip also makes him the first of the new space tourism pioneers to reach space, beating Tesla's Elon Musk and Amazon's Jeff Bezos.

 

The height reached by Sir Richard appears to have been 85km (282,000ft; 53 miles).

 

Today’s flight was the 22nd test flight of VSS Unity and the first test flight with a full crew in

the cabin. 

 

The crew fulfilled a number of test objectives related to the cabin and customer experience, including

evaluating the commercial customer cabin, the views of Earth from space, the conditions for

conducting research and the effectiveness of the five-day pre-flight training program at Spaceport America.

 

Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic, said: “Today is a landmark

achievement for the Company and a historic moment for the new commercial space

industry. With each successful mission we are paving the way for the next generation of

astronauts. I want to thank our talented team, including our pilots and crew, whose

dedication and commitment made today possible. They are helping open the door for

greater access to space – so it can be for the many and not just for the few.”

 

VSS Unity achieved a speed of Mach 3 after being released from the mothership, VMS Eve.

The vehicle reached space, at an altitude of 53.5 miles, before gliding smoothly to a runway

landing at Spaceport America.

 

This seminal moment for Virgin Galactic and Sir Richard Branson was witnessed by

audiences around the world. It gave a glimpse of the journey Virgin Galactic’s Future

Astronauts can expect when the Company launches commercial service following the

completion of its test flight program. A recording of the livestream can be accessed on

Virgin Galactic’s YouTube channel.

 

Sir Richard Branson said: “I have dreamt about this moment since I was a child, but nothing

could have prepared me for the view of Earth from space. We are at the vanguard of a new

space age. As Virgin’s founder, I was honoured to test the incredible customer experience as

part of this remarkable crew of mission specialists and now astronauts. I can’t wait to share

this experience with aspiring astronauts around the world.”

 

Branson continued: “Our mission is to make space more accessible to all. In that spirit, and

with today’s successful flight of VSS Unity, I’m thrilled to announce a partnership with

Omaze and Space for Humanity to inspire the next generation of dreamers. For so long, we

have looked back in wonder at the space pioneers of yesterday. Now, I want the astronauts

of tomorrow to look forward and make their own dreams come true.”

 

The mission specialists in the cabin were Beth Moses, Chief Astronaut Instructor; Colin

Bennett, Lead Flight Operations Engineer; Sirisha Bandla, Vice President of Government

Affairs and Research Operations; and the Company’s founder, Sir Richard Branson. The VSS

Unity pilots were Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, while Kelly Latimer and CJ Sturckow

piloted VMS Eve. - TradeArabia News Service