Tag: VSS Unity
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Virgin Galactic and the FAA are investigating a dropped pin on last spaceflight
Virgin Galactic reported an anomaly on its most recent flight, Galactic 06, which took place 12 days ago from a spaceport in New Mexico. In a statement released Monday, the company said it discovered a dropped pin during a post-flight review of the mission, which carried two pilots and four passengers to an altitude of…
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From Countdown to Touchdown: Flying Aboard Virgin Galactic
For only the second time, VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic’s suborbital space plane, was transformed into a science laboratory. Galactic 05 successfully completed its mission on Nov. 2, but for Kellie Gerardi, Galactic 05 crewmember and Virgin Galactic Astronaut 021, the training and preparation for the flight goes back almost a decade. She sat down with…
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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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Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson takes suborbital space trip, stealing the spotlight from Jeff Bezos
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, VSS Unity, fires up its hybrid rocket motor to head spaceward. (Virgin Galactic via YouTube) Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson rode his company’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane into the skies over New Mexico today and did something that no billionaire has done before. In the company of five crewmates, Branson became…
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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin fuels feud with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic over suborbital space trips
How serious could the suborbital space race between Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos get? (GeekWire Photos) Jeff Bezos has a longstanding rivalry with SpaceX’s Elon Musk, but now his Blue Origin space venture is upping the ante in its spat with fellow soon-to-be space traveler Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic — and the Twitterverse is not…
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Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson plans July spaceflight to upstage Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin trip
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson says he’ll be Astronaut 001 on the July flight. (Virgin Galactic Photo) The billionaire space race is on: Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson is on the crew for the next test flight of the company’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, which is scheduled to cross the 50-mile space frontier as early as…
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Virgin Galactic downplays rumblings about a suborbital Branson vs. Bezos space race
How serious could the suborbital space race between Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos get? (GeekWire Photos) Would Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson try to steal a march on Blue Origin (and Amazon) founder Jeff Bezos when it comes down to which billionaire flies first on their own suborbital spaceship? There’s been some buzz about that…
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Virgin Galactic successfully makes first human spaceflight from New Mexico
Virgin Galactic has successfully performed the first human spaceflight from Spaceport America, just south of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, today, using the VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo spacecraft. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft VMS Eve climbed to an altitude of 44,000 feet before releasing VSS Unity for a rocket-powered flight to space. Flight restrictions in the airspace…