Aircraft VMS EVE carries with spacecraft VSS Unity during a flight test.
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic launched its first spaceflight in nearly two years on Thursday, a key final test for the space tourism company before it begins flying commercial passengers.
“WE HAVE REACHED SPACE!” the company tweeted, adding roughly 11 minutes later that the spacecraft landed smoothly.
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Still, Virgin Galactic stock slipped about 5% in trading Thursday from its previous close of $4.41 a share.
Called Unity 25, the mission represents the company’s fifth spaceflight to date and launched out of Spaceport America in New Mexico. It marks a “final assessment” flight, with six Virgin Galactic employees onboard for a short trip to the edge of space.
Virgin Galactic did not publicly livestreaming the flight, unlike its previous spaceflight that carried founder Sir Richard Branson in July 2021. Instead the company provided updates on Unity 25’s progress on social media, as a third-party webcast gave a look at the company’s launch.
Carrier aircraft VMS Eve took off at about 11:15 a.m. ET, carrying the company’s VSS Unity spacecraft up to an altitude of about 40,000 feet. VMS Eve released the rocket-powered vehicle shortly after noon E.T. for VSS Unity to then fire its engine and climb past 80 kilometers (or about 262,000 feet) – the altitude the U.S. recognizes as the boundary of space.
Known as sub-orbital, this type of spaceflight gives passengers a couple minutes of weightless, unlike the much longer, more difficult and more expensive private orbital flights conducted by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Virgin Galactic previously said it aims to fly its first commercial mission in “late June,” assuming a successful test flight on Thursday.
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VSS Unity is piloted by Virgin Galactic’s Mike Masucci and CJ Sturckow, while carrier aircraft VMS Eve is flown by Jameel Janjua and Nicola Pecile. In the…
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