A team of Italian researchers will board Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered plane
FILE – Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity lifts off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California for the last time, as Virgin Galactic moved its spaceflight operations to New Mexico on February 13, 2020. Virgin Galactic announced on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, that it will begin monthly commercial flights to the edge of space for ticket holders in August, following a research flight planned for late June. (Matt Hartman via AP, File)
The Associated Press
Albuquerque, NM — A team of Italian researchers hopes to reach the edge of space Thursday morning aboard Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered plane as the company prepares for monthly commercial flights.
The flight is scheduled to launch from Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, carrying two Italian Air Force officers and an engineer from Italy’s National Research Council to focus on a series of microgravity experiments during their few minutes of weightlessness.
One will wear a special suit that will measure biometric data and physiological responses while the other will conduct tests using sensors to track heart rate, brain function and other metrics while in microgravity. The third will study how some liquids and solids mix in that extremely weak gravity.
Virgin Galactic will be live-streaming the flight on its website.
The next trip for Virgin Galactic will be the first of hundreds of ticket holders, many of whom have waited years for the chance to witness weightlessness and the curvature of the Earth. Those commercial flights are expected to begin in August and will be scheduled monthly, the space tourism company said.
Virgin Galactic has been working for years to take paying passengers on short space trips and finally got federal government approval in 2021. The company completed its last test fight in May.
The Italian research flight was initially scheduled for late 2021, but at the time Virgin Galactic said it was forced to push back its timeline because of a possible defect in a component used in its flight control system. Was. The company then spent several months upgrading its rocket ship before resuming testing in early 2023.
After reaching an altitude of approximately 50,000 feet (15,000 m), Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft is released from a carrier aircraft and falls for a moment before igniting its rocket motors. The rocket lifts off once it reaches space, leaving a load of passengers at the front of the ship and then heads back to the runway at Spaceport America.
Virgin Galactic has sold about 800 tickets over the past decade, with the initial batch selling for $200,000 each. Tickets now cost $450,000 per person.
The company said that early passengers have already received their seat assignments.
