In just a few short days on July 11, billionaire founder of Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson, aims to officially become “Astronaut 001” when he flies to the edge of space aboard the company’s FAA-licensed spaceplane, VSS Unity. Though considered a test flight, this mission will serve to globally showcase what the astronaut experience will be like when the company begins flying tourists to space as early as 2022.
VSS Unity has been through a lot over the past year — from technical issues to unexpected groundings to, most recently, a nominal spaceflight on May 22. Also known as SpaceShipTwo, this second iteration of the company’s commercial craft has been the workhorse that’s proven to the FAA that Virgin Galactic is ready to begin commercial operations. And though SpaceShipTwo will likely take paying customers to space in the coming years, it’s not the only spacecraft the company plans to fly.
Virgin’s next step
Earlier this year, thousands of paying space tourists got a glimpse at what will be their ride to the final frontier. And that future spaceship is bright and shiny. In late March, Virgin Galactic revealed the new design for its sleek SpaceShip III prototype, called VSS Imagine. It’s a spaceplane clad with a mirror-like finish that’s intended to carry six passengers and two pilots just beyond the edge of space.
VSS Imagine, like the other spacecraft in Virgin’s fleet, will launch from beneath a uniquely designed carrier aircraft called WhiteKnightTwo. This spaceflight system sees the spaceplane carried aloft to roughly 50,000 feet in elevation before being dropped from the mothership. After a few moments, the spaceplane’s rocket engine allow it to climb above Earth’s atmosphere and into suborbital space.
Though SpaceShipTwo has had recent success, the craft has been beset with issues in the past, resulting in the company missing a number of publicly announced test flights. SpaceShip III is meant to help overcome some of the problems of its predecessor.
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