Tag: Virgin Galactic
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Launch Roundup: Russia returns to the Moon with Luna 25 mission, Virgin Galactic completes first fully private space tourism flight
It’s a busy week in spaceflight, especially for Russia. The week of Aug. 7 following through to Aug. 13 has seen Russia launch two missions to space, including the nation’s fourth-generation radio navigation satellite, GLONASS-K2, and Roscosmos’s first mission to the Moon in over four decades, dubbed Luna 25. SpaceX launched a batch of its…
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A nearly 20-year ban on human spaceflight regulations is set to expire
In 2004, Congress passed a law that established a moratorium on federal safety regulations for commercial astronauts and space tourists riding to space on new privately owned rockets and spacecraft. The idea was to allow time for new space companies to establish themselves before falling under the burden of regulations, an eventuality that spaceflight startups…
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A nearly 20-year ban on human spaceflight regulations is set to expire
In 2004, Congress passed a law that established a moratorium on federal safety regulations for commercial astronauts and space tourists riding to space on new privately owned rockets and spacecraft. The idea was to allow time for new space companies to establish themselves before falling under the burden of regulations, an eventuality that spaceflight startups…
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Branson’s Virgin Galactic flies its first commercial mission
Virgin Galactic launched three Italian researchers and three company employees on the suborbital operator’s first commercial flight to the edge of space Thursday. The six-man crew rocketed to an altitude of more than 279,000 feet, higher than the 50-mile height recognized as the boundary of space by NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration, according to…
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Virgin Galactic readies spaceplane for first commercial flight on Thursday
Virgin Galactic’s Eve carrier jet carries the VSS Unity on a test flight in April 2023. Image: Virgin Galactic. Four-and-a-half years after an initial sub-orbital test flight, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is finally ready to begin commercial operations with the launch Thursday of a six-man crew, including three Italian researchers, on an up-and-down flight to…
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Launch Roundup: Virgin Galactic performs crewed suborbital mission; SpaceX launches Euclid
Four launches are planned for the week of June 24 to July 1. The Russians opened the launches, with a Meteor weather satellite riding a Soyuz rocket on Tuesday, June 27, while Virgin Galactic flew its Galactic 01 crewed suborbital mission Thursday, June 29. Firefly’s Alpha rocket was thought to be making its first operational…
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VSS Unity conducts first powered flight since Branson’s trip in 2021
After a nearly two-year pause in flights, starting after a deviation from controlled airspace during Sir Richard Branson’s flight in July 2021, the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity made its first powered flight since the eventful Unity 22 mission. The Unity 25 mission, like Unity 22, had a full crew complement of six. Two pilots…
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VSS Unity conducts first powered flight since Branson’s trip in 2021
After a nearly two-year pause in flights, starting after a deviation from controlled airspace during Sir Richard Branson’s flight in July 2021, the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity made its first powered flight since the eventful Unity 22 mission. The Unity 25 mission, like Unity 22, had a full crew complement of six. Two pilots…
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Virgin Galactic resumes suborbital spaceflights
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION An on-board camera captured this spectacular view of planet Earth with the Unity spaceplane’s folding wings as the six-person vehicle soared over 50 miles above New Mexico. Credit: Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic launched its suborbital spaceplane “Unity” on its first crewed flight in two years Thursday, carrying two…
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This Week In Spaceflight: SpaceX’s Raptor breaks records, NASA announces second Artemis Lander
Reviewing the week in spaceflight and upcoming events, it’s been another busy period, including NASA announcing a second lunar lander for Artemis, SpaceX’s Raptor breaking records, and Stratolaunch drop testing Talon-A. Stratolaunch Drops Talon Stratolaunch has finally conducted a drop test of their Talon-A vehicle. Stratolaunch has been working on developing its reusable hypersonic testbed,…