Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (“Virgin Galactic” or the “Company”) today announced the completion of its first spaceflight of 2024 and 11th mission to date. Today’s ‘Galactic 06’ flight marked the first time all four seats aboard VSS Unity were occupied by private astronauts.
Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said, “Today the incredible team at Virgin Galactic supported another successful mission and delivered an unforgettable experience for four new astronauts. The success of ‘Galactic 06’ and the Company’s other commercial spaceflights in recent months only increases our confidence in the repeatability of our product and our ability to deliver a superlative experience to our customers. With the production of our next-generation Delta-class ships underway, we look forward to expanding our flight capacity with testing expected to start next year and commercial service in 2026.”
Onboard ‘Galactic 06’:
· Astronaut 023 – Lina Borozdina, Ukraine and Nevada, U.S.
· Astronaut 024 – Robie Vaughn, Texas, U.S.
· Astronaut 025 – Franz Haider, Austria
· Astronaut 026 – Neil Kornswiet, California, U.S.
Today’s launch was watched from the ground at Spaceport America by more than 150 guests alongside Virgin Galactic’s team as Unity was dropped at an altitude of about 45,000 feet where the space plane ignited its rocket motor and climbed into suborbital space..
VSS Unity was commanded by C.J. Sturckow with pilot Nicola Pecile. Michael Masucci commanded mothership VMS Eve joined by pilot Dan Alix.
‘Galactic 06’ Flight Facts
· Take-off Time 10:00 am MT
· Altitude at Release 44,493 ft
· Apogee 55.1 miles
· Top Speed Mach 2.98
· Landing Time 10:56 am MT
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE) today announced the ‘Galactic 06’ flight window will open January 26, 2024. This will be the Company’s 11th spaceflight to date and will follow a year of unprecedented human spaceflight achievements that included six suborbital spaceflights in six months. Four private astronauts from three different countries will journey to space on Virgin Galactic’s sixth commercial spaceflight.
The private astronauts onboard the ‘Galactic 06’ mission will include:
- Astronaut 023 – Private Astronaut from Ukraine and Las Vegas, United States
- Astronaut 024 – Private Astronaut from Texas, United States
- Astronaut 025 – Private Astronaut from Austria
- Astronaut 026 – Private Astronaut from California, United States
The Virgin Galactic crew will include:
- VSS Unity Commander CJ Sturckow and pilot Nicola Pecile
- VMS Eve Commander Michael Masucci and pilot Dan Alix
The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said, “Our inaugural year of commercial service demonstrated our spaceflight system’s ability to regularly deliver a safe and unparalleled customer experience for our astronauts and established new turn time records for reuseable human spaceflight systems. We’re excited to begin 2024 by bringing four new Virgin Galactic astronauts to space with our‘Galactic 06’ mission.”
Weather Forecast During Launch
The forecast calls for a temperature of 40°F, scattered clouds, 43% cloud cover and a wind speed of 10mph.