VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered space aircraft carrying the company’s first crew of tourists to space, successfully launched and landed again on Thursday, August 10.
Mission Galactic 02 took off just after 11:00 ET from Spaceport America in New Mexico with six people on board, reports The Guardian. Commander CH Sturckow, Pilot Kelly Latimer and Virgin Galactic Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses were joined by health and wellness coach Keisha Schahaff, her daughter Anastasia Mayers and former Olympic canoeist, Jon Goodwin.
The 45-minute suborbital fight allowed the passengers to experience several minutes of weightlessness at an altitude high enough for them to see the Earth’s curvature, according to Space.com.
Carrier aircraft VMS Eve transported VSS Unity to an altitude of 13,50km, dropping Unity, which then fired its own rocket motor and ascended to suborbital space.
The passengers experienced a gravitation force of about 3Gs – three times the normal gravitational force experienced on Earth. Live footage inside the spacecraft shows them unstrapping themselves from their seats and looking out down to Earth through the windows as they floated throughout the spacecraft.
Virgin Galactic Founder Richard Branson tweeted: “Congratulations Virgin Galactic commercial astronauts 011, 012 and 013 – welcome to the club!”
The company says it has booked a backlog of 800 customers. Tickets for space flights ranged from $250 000-$450 000 (R4,7m-R8,4m). Its third commercial spaceflight is planned for September.
Click here to watch the video of the flight.
