Screenshot from YouTube
Virgin Galactic is set to launch its historic crewed flight on Saturday, December 12. According to BBC, the rocket-powered space plane will carry out a milestone test flight that will take off from the purpose-built commercial spaceport in New Mexico, USA.
This is the first crewed flight of the reusable tourist space plan, called Unity, according to the report. Virgin Galactic, one of Sir Richard Branson's company, will begin its space tourism in 2021.
So far, the company has already received over 600 paying customers who had reserved seats to take a ride on the spaceplane. Among the people who booked a flight on the plane were Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Bieber.
First Human Space Flight From the Spaceport America
Beginning on December 12, the window will be open for Virgin Galactic to carry out the very first human space flight from the Spaceport America in New Mexico, USA. The flight will be the third manned-flight of the company but the first in over a year after the flights in Mojave Air & Space Port in California in the last months of 2019 and early 2019.
Virgin Galactic will start its flight on the runway rather than the launchpad unlike the test flights of SpaceX. The space plane will be attached to a carrier plane that will drop it after reaching 50,000 feet in which at that point, its engine will start firing up to engage the space plane into the sub-orbital space.
Robb Report said that it will be piloted by Dave Mackay and C.J. Sturckow. This will also serve as an opportunity for Virgin Galactic to test out the cabin, stabilizers, and controls of the space plane, as well as carry payloads that are part of NASA's Flight Opportunities Program.
Virgin Galactic's flight was supposed to be scheduled last November 16 but it was postponed when New Mexico enacted a stay-at-home order due to increasing cases of COVID-19 in the state.
Media and guests will not be allowed to witness the launch even after the order was lifted and changed to a "Red to Green Framework" because it only allows the non-essential businesses to operate at a reduced capacity.
Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in an interview that "With safety as our core priority, we remain committed to completing our first powered flight in New Mexico."
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$250,000 Per Seat
According to the Robb Report, the official launch of space tourism will cost about $250,000 per seat. Additionally, the flight will serve as a milestone for New Mexico as it becomes the third state to host a crewed space flight next to Florida and California.
Virgin Galactic has recently unveiled what the cabin would look like where the passengers will sit on seats that move to manage the G-forces in the different phases of the flight to boost up space and on the descent back to the Earth.
According to BBC, the passengers will get a personal seat-back screen that will show live flight data, and also 12 large windows that are designed to make sure no passenger has to compete for the view as they float free inside the cabin upon reaching the orbit. There will also be a mirror at the aft end so the passengers can see themselves weightless.
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