Virgin Galactic VSS Unity

2021: Successful Test Run

In May 2021, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. billionaire Richard Branson made a test flight into space with people on board for the first time in more than two years.

The VSS Unity flight was the company's first space flight from New Mexico and the company's first rocket launch since February 2019.

After successful tests on May 22, Virgin Galactic will have only three test flights before the first commercial launch.

The company already offers potential tourists to reserve a ticket to space for $250 000.

2020

Launch of sales of tickets for space flights

In early November 2020, it became known that the Virgin group is starting selling tickets for space flights. The flight will be carried out on the VSS Unity spacecraft.

According to Virgin, ticket sales will start in 2021, but the company has opened preliminary registration, which will last until December 31, 2020. At the registration stage, a contribution of $1 thousand is assumed. After completing the required form, Virgin will begin to find suitable dates and find out other details for the upcoming flight.

Virgin Galactic begins selling tickets for space flights

Virgin Galactic wants to take tourists to suborbital commercial flights at a ticket price of $200 thousand to $250 thousand. The company has already sold at least 600 tickets and received over 1000 applications, some with a deposit for the cost of the flight. VSS Unity can take on board six passengers and two pilots. In flight, the device reaches an altitude of at least 80 km. At about an altitude of about 14 km, Unity separates WhiteKnightTwo from the carrier aircraft, then accelerates on its own for up to a minute. By 2023, Virgin plans to build five such cosmoplanes.

As of early November 2020, the VSS Unity ship is under testing. The last test flight is scheduled for November 19-23, 2020 from the cosmodrome in New Mexico (USA), where the company moved in May 2019 after many years of delays. Virgin has already completed several manned test missions of its VSS Unity spacecraft. On the first flight will go the founder of Virgin Galactic Richard Branson. Its flight is scheduled for the period January-early March 2021.

After the successful completion of the first flight, tourists will begin to be sent into space. These will not be the first flights with a crew for Virgin: the company twice sent employees on suborbital flights up, in December 2018 and February 2019, from its test site in California.^[1]

Virgin Galactic introduced the design of a spacecraft for commercial flights

Virgin Galactic presented an interior of an internal part of inside of the VSS Unity spaceship in July, 2020. It is designed for tourist flights into space.

6 passenger seats are installed in the cabin. The seats are made of carbon fiber and aluminum. They can change the angle of inclination and position to obtain a high-quality view of space and the Earth. The design of the seats is created according to the individual features of tourists. For example, in the head restraint there is a recess for the hair collected in the tail^[2].

The cabin is also equipped with 12 portholes. They are located near each seat. Personal displays will be built into the chairs. With their help, astronauts will be able to find out all the information about the flight.

Passengers will be held by five seat belts. Inner surface of cabin and frames of windows are covered with soft materials.

It is noted that dynamic lighting is installed in the cabin, which will change depending on the phase of the trip.

The partition between the cockpit and the cabin will be mirrored. This will allow passengers to see themselves in zero gravity in the natural light of the Earth.

Notes