#VSS Unity

[falconisinstartup]

VSS Unity | Eric Berger

[spaceflight-insider]

Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity completes first commercial spaceflight

The Italian crew unfurled the flag of Italy inside the cabin of VSS Unity during their brief time in space. Credit: Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo has flown with paying passengers for the first time on its inaugural commercial suborbital spaceflight. Continue reading Untitled

[ancientorigins]

Who knows what our ancient ancestors were thinking, but it surely wasn’t about space travel. From ancient Earth to the vastness of space! Fossils of two ancient human ancestors made history aboard Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity.

[enterprisewired]

Virgin Galactic Implements Workforce Reduction as Focus Shifts to Next-Generation Suborbital Vehicle

Virgin Galactic has made the strategic decision to reduce its workforce and cut down on expenses as it shifts its attention towards the development of the Delta class of suborbital spaceplanes. This move is aimed at conserving resources and prioritizing the company’s future endeavors.

While specific details, such as the number of employees being affected, were not provided, the company mentioned that the process of notifying impacted employees is ongoing. Further information on these changes will be presented during the company’s scheduled earnings call on November 8.

The company also disclosed that its facilities would remain closed for the week. According to Virgin Galactic’s annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in February, the company had 1,166 employees as of the end of 2022.

The Focus on Delta Class

Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, highlighted that these workforce reductions and cost-cutting measures are in alignment with the company’s commitment to preserving its financial resources for the development of the Delta class of spaceplanes. The Delta vehicles are envisioned to offer more frequent and cost-effective suborbital flights, distinguishing them from the existing SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle, VSS Unity.

Colglazier also pointed out the “uncertainty” in the markets, attributing it to high-interest rates and geopolitical events. He emphasized that such uncertainty has made it less favorable to access capital in the near term. In light of this, the company aims to direct its resources towards the Delta program, while streamlining and minimizing activities outside this program.

In his message to employees, Colglazier stated, “The Delta ships are powerful economic engines,” and continued, “To bring them into service, we need to extend our strong financial position and reduce our reliance on unpredictable capital markets. We will accomplish this, but it requires us to redirect our resources toward the Delta ships while streamlining and reducing our work outside of the Delta program.”

Financial Snapshot and Future Projections

Virgin Galactic reported having $980 million in cash and equivalents at the close of the second quarter of the current year, coinciding with a net loss of $134.4 million. Although the estimated costs for developing the Delta vehicles were not disclosed, the company anticipates their entry into service by 2026. While the existing VSS Unity can accommodate up to four customers per monthly flight, the company projects only limited revenue from it.

Previous Cost-Cutting Measures

The company had previously implemented cost-saving measures, including delaying work on a new line of mothership aircraft by approximately a year, which are responsible for carrying the Delta-class spaceplanes into the air. The decision was made considering the possibility of utilizing the current mothership aircraft, VMS Eve, for test flights of Delta-class vehicles. Virgin Galactic had also deprioritized the introduction of another spaceplane, VSS Imagine, before the rollout of the Delta line of vehicles.

It remains to be seen how these workforce reductions will impact the operations of VSS Unity, especially after it recently completed its fifth commercial flight, Galactic 05, carrying two researchers and a private astronaut. With VMS Eve, both vehicles are now set to undergo annual maintenance, with flights resuming in January, as announced by the company.

Virgin Galactic is navigating through a crucial phase in its journey, making tough decisions to ensure it remains on track for its ambitious plans in the space tourism industry. The strategic realignment underscores the challenges and uncertainties that are often associated with groundbreaking endeavors in space exploration.

Also Read: Nokia Announces Significant Workforce Reduction Amid Challenging Market Conditions

[mrm101]

Another Virgin Galactic flight today, this time a research flight with three commercial sub-orbital astronauts onboard. Galactic 05 will be the 14th powered flight of VSS Unity which with take off onboard the carrier aircraft Eve at 14:30UT. However it won't be televised (as will be the norm in future, apparently multi-millionaires are shy). One of the passengers has still not been revealed but is a franco-italian. The other two are payload specialists. Dr Alan Stern (pictured on left) is a US Planetary scientist and associate Vice President in Southwest Research Institutes (SwRI) space sector. He is best known as the principle investigator of the New Horizons Pluto mission and has played a key role in 30 sub-orbital, orbital and planetary space missions. He is also a former NASA Associate Administartor. He will be wearing a biomedical monitoring harness during the flight and conducting a dummy run for the operation of an astronomy camera. Stern will wear a Accutracker-II biomedical harness, Various iterations of this have previously flown on 68 Space Shuttle missons and Stern has also worn it during F104 Starfighter research flights. Dr Stern will also practice taking astronomical observations with a mock up Xybion wide angle visible and UV camera, for which he is principle investigator. This has also previously flown on two Space Shuttle missions. The real camera will be flown on a future flight, under NASA's Flight Opportunities program, for which Dr Stern will be practicing. Kelli Gerardi is a US Bioastronautics Researcher from the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS). She is operations lead for Palantir Technologies. She will be wearing a boimedical monitoring shirt and conducting payload experiments developed with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). She has also previously conducted an expedition to the analog Mars Desert Research Station and is an online presenter. She is the authour of 'Not Necessarily Rocket Science' and the childrens picture book series 'Luna Muna." During the flight Gerardi will wear and Asrtoskin, developed by IIAS, a biomonitoring lightweight shirt which has an all in one sensor suite developed by Candadian company Carré Technologies and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). It has an electrocardiogram which will monitor heart rate, breathing rate and temperature throughout all phases of the flight. The shirt is also used by astonauts while onboard the ISS. She will also conduct the IIAS experiment 'Configuration of a Confined Fluid in a Low Gravity Enviroment'. Gerardi will operate a fluid cell designed to better help predict and control the shape and location of fluid within a container in microgravity. This data can help inform the design of life-support systems and new medical syringe designs. Finally Gerardi will 'deploy' an implantable sensor that can continuously sample blood glucose levels and record them in the IIAS experiment 'Contiunous Blood Glucoose Monitoring in Suborbital Flight'. There is growing evidence that long duration spaceflight induces insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic state. This will offer insights, it is hoped, as to how quickly insulin-resitance develops during spaceflight. This will be one of the first uses of a glucose monitor in a microgravity enviroment. The next Virgin Galactic flight, Galactic 06, will be in January 2024. Rival Blue Origin is set to resume New Shepard flights (with a new booster), following an FAA investigation, on 30 November after booster NS4 suffered an engine failure on Flight NS-23, in September 2022, triggering the capsule to fire it's launch escape motor. Fortunately it was a research flight with no crew onboard. This upcoming flight is also an uncrewed research flight to check all is well with the new booster.

[piyasahaberleri]

WASHINGTON: Kâr amacı gütmeyen Space Trust'ın kurucusu ve başkanı Namira Salim, Cuma günü uzaya çıkan ilk Pakistanlı oldu.Virgin Galactic'in 2023'teki dördüncü görevi olan Galactic 04'ün bir parçası olan Salim, 2006 senesinde 200.000 dolara Virgin Galactic biletini satın alan ilk 100 şahıs arasındaydı. Yolculuğunun maliyeti o zamandan beri 450.000 dolara çıktı. Virgin Galactic'in VSS Unity gemisinde Salim, İngiliz reklam uzmanı Trevor Beattie ve ABD'li astronomi eğitimcisi Ron Rosano, Nicola Pecile ve Pakistan-Kanadalı pilot Jameel Janua tarafınca yönetilen uçuşun "ücretli" üç yolcusuydu. Uzay uçağı, yörünge altı bir yörüngeyle New Mexico'daki Spaceport America'dan (dünyanın ilk amaca yönelik inşa edilmiş ticari uzay limanı) havalandı.Belirlenen yüksekliğe ulaşıldığında, VSS Unity ana gemiden özgür bırakıldı ve yolcular birkaç dakika "ağırlıksızlık" yaşadı ve peşinden yörüngeye ulaşamayacakları için gezegenin uzayın arka planına karşı eğriliği görünümüyle Dünya'ya geri döndü.45'ten fazla araçta 4.000'den fazla uçuş saatine haiz olan Janjua'ya, uzay uçağını uçururken Kelly Latimer ve CJ Sturckow da birlikte rol aldı. Her iki vasıta da (ana vapur ve VSS Unity) görevden sonrasında Spaceport America'ya geri döndü.Bu haftanın başlarında Virgin Galactic, yaklaşan uzay turizmi uçuşunu bigün 6 Ekim Cuma gününe ertelediğini deklare etti.Kâr amacı gütmeyen Space Trust'ın kurucusu ve başkanı Salim, uzun süredir bir maceraperesttir ve hem Nisan 2007'de Şimal Kutbu'nu hem de Ocak 2008'de Cenup Kutbu'nu ziyaret eden ilk Pakistanlı olmuştur.Çarşamba günü, Bekçi Başbakan Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Namira Salim'i Pakistan'dan uzaya giden ilk hanım olduğundan kutlama etti.Kakar, X hesabına "Pakistanlı bayanlar birçok alanda öncü olarak cesaretlerini kanıtlayarak tüm ülkeyi gururlandırıyor" diye yazdı ve ona talih diledi.

[mystictastemakerenthusiast]

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[my-yasiuae]

قد يكون السفر إلى الفضاء ظاهرة حديثة نسبياً، لكن يتمكن اثنين من أسلاف البشر القدامى من اختبارها أيضاً، وإن كان ذلك بعد نحو مليوني سنة من وفاتهم.. إذ تم إطلاق بقايا نوع من أشباه البشر يُدعى (أسترالوبيثكس سيديبا Australopithecus sediba ) والتي يعود تاريخها إلى مليوني عام في الفضاء كجزء من رحلة سفينة الفضاء التابعة لشركة Virgin Galactic المسماة VSS Unity. كما تم تضمين بقايا نوع عمره 250 ألف عام يُدعى Homo naledi في المركبة، التي أُرسلت إلى الفضاء في الثامن من سبتمبر الجاري. ونقلت شظايا العظام من الهيكلين العظميين القديمين إلى المدار بواسطة البروفيسور لي بيرجر. وحين وصلت إلى ارتفاع نحو 50000 قدم تم فصلها عن سفينة الفضاء. وعلق بيرغر على هذا الأمر قائلاً: «رحلة هذه الحفريات إلى الفضاء تمثل تقدير البشرية لمساهمة جميع أسلاف البشرية وأقاربنا القدامى (في صنع الحضارة)» وأضاف «لولا اختراعهم لتقنيات مثل النار والأدوات، ومساهمتهم في تطور العقل البشري المعاصر، لم تكن مثل هذه المساعي الاستثنائية مثل رحلات الفضاء لتحدث». وذكرت مجلة «إيفل ساينس» أن هذين النوعين المنقرضين من أشباه البشر من الشخصيات المهمة في شجرة العائلة البشرية، والتي لا نعرف عنها سوى القليل. واكتشفت بقايا أسترالوبيثكس سيديبا في كهف مالابا في جنوب إفريقيا ويعود تاريخها إلى نحو 1.98 مليون سنة. وحول أهمية الشحنة غير العادية، قال ماثيو بيرجر، ابن بيرجر، الذي كان جزءاً من اكتشاف البقايا عندما كان طفلاً: «تمثل هذه الحفريات أفراداً عاشوا وماتوا منذ مئات الآلاف من السنين، ومع ذلك كانوا الذين من المحتمل أن يحدقوا في النجوم في عجب، مثلما نفعل تماماً، أتخيل أنهم لم يكن بإمكانهم أبداً أن يحلموا وهم على قيد الحياة بالقيام بمثل هذه الرحلة المذهلة كسفراء لجميع أسلاف البشرية».   المصدر: الإمارات اليوم

[awake-for-a-lifetime]

VSS Unity cockpit

[ancientoriginses]

Quién sabe qué pensaban nuestros ancestros, pero seguramente no se trataba de viajes espaciales. ¡De la antigua Tierra a la inmensidad del espacio! Los fósiles de dos ancestros humanos antiguos hicieron historia a bordo del VSS Unity de Virgin Galactic.

[cavenewstimes]

Virgin Galactic conducts first space tourist suborbital flight

Updated 8:15 p.m. with comments from post-flight briefing. LOGAN, Utah — Virgin Galactic took its first private astronaut customers on a suborbital spaceflight Aug. 10, nearly two decades after it started selling tickets. Virgin’s VSS Unity spaceplane, attached to its VMS Eve mothership aircraft, took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico at approximately 10:20 a.m. Eastern. Unity was released…

[spacenutspod]

The private Axiom-3 mission to the International Space Station is being readied for launch from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The mission features a crew representing five different countries, four of them wholly or partly in Europe. Falcon 9 B1080-5 and Crew Dragon C212 Freedom are scheduled to launch from Pad 39A at 5:11 PM EST (22:11 UTC) on Wednesday, Jan. 17. This flight will be the first crewed space mission of 2024, and it will be lofted on a trajectory to rendezvous and dock with the ISS. With an on-time launch, docking at the forward port of the Harmony module would take place on Friday, Jan. 19, at 5:15 AM EST (10:15 UTC). Following second stage separation, B1080-5 will return to the concrete pad at Landing Zone 1, conducting a return to launch site (RTLS) landing. The recent introduction of RTLS landings for Crew Dragon missions helps minimize the use of marine assets, particularly as the drone ship Just Read the Instructions undergoes work in Charleston, South Carolina. During Crew Dragon’s ascent phase, there are several abort zones designated for the spacecraft to splash down safely should an issue occur during powered flight. Weather for these zones is a watch item for all Crew Dragon flights, and enough zones must be usable for the launch to proceed. 45th Weather Squadron forecast for the Axiom-3 launch. Forecats are provided for the three upcoming launch windows. (Credit: USSF) While the abort zones are being watched, the 45th Weather Squadron of the USSF has come out with its launch forecast, showing less than a five percent probability of violation of launch criteria. The primary concern is the cumulus cloud rule. Backup days are almost as good, with a 10 percent chance of violation for a 24-hour delay and a 25 percent chance of violation for a 48-hour delay, with flight through precipitation joining the cumulus cloud rule as primary concerns. B1080 and Crew Dragon Freedom sit ready at Launch Complex 39A ahead of Axiom-2 (Credit: SpaceX) B1080 got its start by flying the Axiom-2 mission, commanded by Peggy Whitson and flying two Saudi Arabian citizens to orbit. The booster has also launched the Euclid space telescope, Starlink 6-11, and Starlink 6-24. Crew Dragon Freedom, meanwhile, has flown on the Crew-4 and Axiom-2 missions to ISS. Freedom is the fourth Crew Dragon to fly, joining sister ships Endeavour, Resilience, and Endurance. See AlsoAxiom-3 UpdatesISS SectionL2 SpaceX SectionClick here to Join L2 The crew for this flight is commanded by dual US and Spanish citizen Michael Lopez-Alegria, a veteran astronaut with multiple Space Shuttle and ISS missions under his belt. His first space flight was STS-73 in 1995 aboard the shuttle Columbia, and he also flew aboard STS-92 and STS-113 as well as Soyuz TMA-9 to the ISS as part of Expedition 14. Lopez-Alegria’s last space mission was the Axiom-1 flight, which was the first wholly private mission to the International Space Station. The retired NASA astronaut, born in Madrid, Spain on May 30, 1958, is now a commercial astronaut working for Axiom, and making his sixth overall spaceflight. Lopez-Alegria holds a bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering from the US Naval Academy as well as a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the US Naval Postgraduate School. As a naval aviator, he served as an instructor pilot, a reconnaissance plane pilot, and as a test pilot at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland. Axiom-3 crew portrait. From left to right: Marcus Wandt, Michael Lopez-Alegria, Walter Villadei, Alper Gezeravci. (Credit: Axiom Space) Axiom-3’s pilot is Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei, who also has experience flying to the edge of space aboard VSS Unity during the Galactic 01 mission last year. Villadei, born in Rome, Italy on April 29, 1974, has served in the Italian Air Force since 1998. In 2008, Villadei underwent cosmonaut training at Star City in Russia, and earned his cosmonaut wings in 2012, while also being certified to operate as a Soyuz flight engineer in 2015. Col. Villadei has a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Naples Federico II, and a specialization in astronautical engineering from the University of Rome. He became a member of the Air Staff and was assigned to the Air Staff’s Space Policy Office in 2011, and is now the head of the Space Policy and Operations Office. In addition, he is also a member of the Italian Space Agency’s scientific committee. The Axiom-3 crew shown in their launch and entry suits that they will wear aboard Crew Dragon Freedom. Freedom can be partially seen just behind the crew. (Credit: Axiom Space) Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravci is to become the first Turkish citizen to fly to space. Gezeravci, born in Silifke, Türkiye in December 1979, is a veteran pilot, having flown high-performance jet aircraft with the Turkish Air Force for 15 years, followed by seven years flying for Turkish Airlines. He also has a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from the Turkish Air Force Academy in Istanbul and a master’s degree from the USAF Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Rounding out the crew is mission specialist Marcus Wandt from Sweden. Wandt, born in Hammaro, Sweden on Sept. 22, 1980, is representing the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA has dubbed his mission “Muninn” after a raven in Norse mythology. He will work alongside Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, currently onboard the Station, whose own mission is known as “Huginn” by ESA, after another raven in Norse mythology. Wandt was a fighter pilot in the Swedish Air Force from 2003 to 2014 and became a test pilot for Saab Aeronautics after graduating from the United States Naval Test Pilot School. Besides being promoted to chief test pilot at Saab, he also earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Chalmers University of Technology. Axiom-1 splashes down off the coast of Florida in April 2022. (Credit: Axiom Space) The Axiom-3 mission is scheduled to last approximately two weeks, while Axiom-1 lasted around 17 days after postponements of its trip home due to bad weather at the splashdown sites. Axiom-2 spanned 10 days, which is currently the shortest such mission to date. While Axiom-3 is in orbit, there will be 11 people aboard the ISS and three people aboard the Chinese Tiangong Space Station, making a total of 14 people in orbit. If Virgin Galactic’s next flight overlaps with this mission, there would be 20 people above 80 kilometers altitude for a few minutes, tying the record for the most people in space at one time. The Smart Flight Suit 2 is one of the experiments that will be part of the Axiom-3 mission. (Credit: Spacewear SRL) The crew of Axiom-3 will conduct over 30 experiments during their time aboard the Station, including experiments related to food consumption in space, radiation shielding, ovarian function in microgravity, a Turkish plant experiment involving CRISPR gene editing, biological experiments on the astronauts, and other research. Once Axiom-3’s stay at the ISS is finished, the spacecraft will return to Earth in the same manner as other Crew Dragon missions and is scheduled to use one of the splashdown sites in the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. (Lead image: Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 vertical at Launch Complex 39A ahead of flight. Credit: SpaceX) The post Axiom-3 ready to send a multinational crew to ISS appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

[pdj-france]

En direct Virgin Galactic a lancé avec réussite son premier vol de tourisme spatial, envoyant trois passagers aux confins de l'espace. Pour la première fois, un duo mère-fille s'est envolé dans l'espace, après avoir décroché une place convoitée lors d'un tirage au sort. Keisha Schahaff, 46 ans, et sa fille, Anastatia Mayers, 18 ans, qui étudie la physique et la philosophie à l'Université d'Aberdeen, ont été rejointes par un ancien olympien de 80 ans atteint de la maladie de Parkinson. Jon Goodwin, de Newcastle, est devenu le premier olympien – et seulement la deuxième personne atteinte de la maladie de Parkinson – à aller dans l'espace. Il a obtenu son siège en qualité de premier client payant de l'entreprise il y a 18 ans, après avoir acheté un billet de 250 000 $ US (381 426 $ A). Le vaisseau-mère VMS Eve a décollé du Nouveau-Mexique jeudi. Après avoir atteint une altitude d'environ 44 500 pieds, le VSS Unity a été libéré et, peu de temps après, les passagers ont reçu le feu vert pour déboucler par l'instructeur et profiter de l'apesanteur pendant quelques minutes tout en observant la courbure de la Terre et le noir de l'espace. Dès qu'ils se sont débouclés, les trois passagers ont tenu à avoir une vue par la fenêtre la plus proche, regardant la Terre s'éloigner alors qu'ils continuaient à monter. Ils sont ensuite retournés à leurs sièges et se sont attachés avant le voyage de retour. En juin, Virgin Galactic de Sir Richard Branson a fait avec réussite le premier vol spatial commercial de la société, emmenant des astronautes italiens dans l'espace pour mener un certain nombre d'expériences scientifiques. La société appelle jeudi la première mission d'astronaute privée, Galactic 02. Si tout se passe bien, la société de Richard Branson commencera à proposer des voyages mensuels aux consommateurs sur son avion spatial ailé, rejoignant Blue Origin de Jeff Bezos et SpaceX d'Elon Musk dans le milieu du tourisme spatial.

[hackernewsrobot]

Virgin Galactic successfully flies tourists to space for first time

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/aug/10/vigin-galactic-space-flight-vss-unity-landing