05 December 2016
VSS Unity makes successful first glide flight test
...with a series of captive carry test flights. This entails VSS Unity hitching a ride to the dizzying heights required for the ..., allowing engineers to collect valuable data to assess how VSS Unity would perform in a wide variety of real-world flight...
14 December 2018
VSS Unity reaches edge of space in landmark test flight
... back in the Mojave Desert in California. After taking off attached to the company’s carrier plane WhiteKnightTwo, VSS Unity rocketed to an altitude of 82 kilometres (51 miles) before cruising back to ground in a gliding descent. The trip marked the...
10 January 2020
Virgin Galactic's second spaceship completes a major build milestone
... of Virgin Galactic, said: “Reaching the Weight on Wheels milestone considerably faster than was achieved for VSS Unity is a huge accomplishment and is a testament to the growing expertise and capabilities of the company.” A more efficient, modular...
10 July 2019
Virgin Galactic to become the first publicly traded commercial human spaceflight company
... expand launches beyond its current US facility. Virgin Galactic is currently flying high after the success of its VSS Unity spacecraft, the only vehicle built for regular commercial service to have put humans into orbit, after...
September 2021
Near space - the air-space boundary question, astronauts and space tourism
...11 July, when Richard Branson flew as ‘Astronaut 001’ on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo suborbital tourism vehicle, VSS Unity. The Unity 22 mission, launched from New Mexico’s Spaceport America and piloted by Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, provided...
October 2024
Spaceport America’s road to the future
..., at this year’s Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. Scott McLaughlin pictured in front of a replica of the Virgin Galactic spacecraft VSS Unity near the spaceport entrance. What is the background to Spaceport America and how did it come into being...
