Virgin Galactic, the spaceflight company founded by Sir Richard Branson, has resumed its suborbital spaceflights after a hiatus of almost two years. The company’s SpaceShipTwo spacecraft, named VSS Unity, successfully completed its first crewed test flight on May 22, 2021, from the company’s Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Suborbital spaceflights are those that do not reach orbit around the Earth but instead go up to an altitude of about 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the Earth’s surface. This altitude is known as the Kármán line, which is considered by some to be the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo spacecraft is designed to carry up to six passengers and two pilots on a suborbital spaceflight. The spacecraft is launched from a carrier aircraft called WhiteKnightTwo, which takes it up to an altitude of about 15 kilometers (50,000 feet). At this point, SpaceShipTwo is released from WhiteKnightTwo and its rocket engine is ignited, propelling it to an altitude of about 100 kilometers (62 miles).
During the suborbital spaceflight, passengers experience weightlessness and can see the curvature of the Earth and the blackness of space. The entire flight lasts about 90 minutes, with only a few minutes spent in space.
Virgin Galactic’s suborbital spaceflights are aimed at space tourism, with tickets priced at $250,000 per person. The company has already sold more than 600 tickets for future flights, with celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio among the customers.
The resumption of Virgin Galactic’s suborbital spaceflights comes after a long hiatus caused by a fatal accident in 2014. During a test flight of SpaceShipTwo in October 2014, the spacecraft broke apart in mid-air, killing one pilot and injuring another. The accident was caused by a failure of the spacecraft’s feathering system, which is used to slow down the spacecraft during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
After the accident, Virgin Galactic made significant changes to the design of SpaceShipTwo and the feathering system. The company also conducted extensive testing and simulations to ensure the safety of future flights.
The successful test flight of VSS Unity in May 2021 was a major milestone for Virgin Galactic, demonstrating that the company’s spacecraft is safe and ready for commercial operations. The company plans to conduct a few more test flights before starting commercial operations later this year.
Virgin Galactic’s suborbital spaceflights are a significant step towards space tourism, which has long been a dream of many people. While the cost of a ticket is still prohibitively high for most people, it is expected that the price will come down as more companies enter the space tourism market. With the resumption of its suborbital spaceflights, Virgin Galactic has taken a major step towards making space tourism a reality.
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- Source: https://zephyrnet.com/virgin-galactic-resumes-suborbital-spaceflights/