Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is a spaceflight company founded by the English billionaire Richard Branson in 2004.
Flights[change | change source]
- In May 2021 one of the company's spaceplanes took people into space.[1][2]
- On 11 July 2021, Richard Branson and three employees were passengers on a flight, up to an altitude of 86 km (53 mi); the flight had two pilots.[3] However, the rocket plane Unity flew outside restricted airspace;[4][5] That happened for 1 minute and 41 seconds. The Federal Aviation Administration allowed [any] SpaceShipTwo rocket plane to fly again [from] September 2021, after deciding to expand (or make larger) the restricted airspace around the vehicle's flight range.[6]
- In May 2023, the company's fifth spaceflight happened.
- In June 2023, the rocket plane Unity was in space for 13:50 minutes. It came to a distance from Earth of 85 km (≈52 mi), and top speed was Mach 2.88. Galactic 01 is the name of the flight.
- In August 2023, the rocket plane Eve was in space. It came to a distance from Earth of 88 km (≈55 mi). Galactic 02 is the name of the flight. Six people were onboard: the chief, the pilot, 3 tourists and an instructor for those space tourists.[7]
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![The spaceplane Unity is rocket-powered. It is a SpaceShipTwo type spaceplane. In 2021, it came to an altitude of 86 km (≈53 mi), with people inside.[3]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Virgin_Galactic_SpaceShipTwo_%22Unity%22_rollout_19Feb2016%2C_FAITH_hangar%2C_Mojave%2C_California.jpg/120px-Virgin_Galactic_SpaceShipTwo_%22Unity%22_rollout_19Feb2016%2C_FAITH_hangar%2C_Mojave%2C_California.jpg)
The spaceplane Unity is rocket-powered. It is a SpaceShipTwo type spaceplane. In 2021, it came to an altitude of 86 km (≈53 mi), with people inside.[3]
![The spaceplane Unity is rocket-powered. It is a SpaceShipTwo type spaceplane. In 2021, it came to an altitude of 86 km (≈53 mi), with people inside.[3]](/wiki/File:Virgin_Galactic_SpaceShipTwo_%22Unity%22_rollout_19Feb2016,_FAITH_hangar,_Mojave,_California.jpg)
Newer kind of spaceplanes[change | change source]
- a SpaceShip III (SS3 or SS III) was shown in March 2021, but the first one - the VSS Imagine - has not flown (as of Spring 2022).[8] When in operation, it can do space tourism; It will not do point-to-point transportation (such as flying from London to Sydney).
- the Delta spaceplanes are supposed to be ready in 2025, according to the company in July 2022; The next generation of mothership should also be ready by 2025.[9] The Delta spaceplanes will do the same things as a SpaceShip III.[10]
Gallery[change | change source]
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Mother ship (Cosmic Girl) carrying a LauncherOne launch vehicle under its wing
_(cropped).jpg)
Website[change | change source]
Related pages[change | change source]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "Virgin Galactic rocket plane flies to edge of space". BBC News. 2021-05-22. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ↑ "Virgin Galactic провела первый запуск своего космического корабля с людьми на борту". AIN.UA (in Russian). 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Howell, Elizabeth (10 July 2021). "Meet the crew launching on Virgin Galactic's 1st fully crewed flight Unity 22". Space.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ↑ Shepardson, David (2 September 2021). "U.S. Aviation agency probes Branson's Virgin Galactic flight deviation". Reuters.
- ↑ Shepardson, David (2021-09-02). "U.S. bars Virgin Galactic rocket plane flights pending mishap probe". Reuters.
- ↑ Foust, Jeff (2021-09-29). "FAA clears Virgin Galactic to resume SpaceShipTwo flights".
- ↑ https://www.space.com/virgin-galactic-galactic02-launch-time. Retrieved 2023-08-10
- ↑ "Virgin Galactic Unveils VSS Imagine, The First SpaceShip III In It's Growing Fleet". 30 March 2021. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ↑ Natalie Clarkson (7 July 2022). "Virgin Galactic announces Boeing's Aurora will build new motherships". Virgin Galactic. Virgin Group.
- ↑ Sheetz, Michael. "Virgin Galactic unveils ‘VSS Imagine,’ the first of its next-generation spaceship series", CNBC, March 2021. (retrieved 21 July 2022)
