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Additional Media

VSS Unity 22

Overview

Destination: Suborbital
Mission: Tourism

Suborbital Spaceport America Air launch to Suborbital flight

Powered flight of VSS Unity on the first fully crewed flight. Including the founder Sir Richard Branson.

Updates

SwGustav • July 11, 2021, 3:43 p.m.

VSS Unity has successfully landed at the Spaceport America after completing a nominal flight


SwGustav • July 11, 2021, 2:34 p.m.

Moving T-0 to approximate drop time


Nosu • July 11, 2021, 9:52 a.m.

Flight delayed 90 minutes due to overnight weather at spaceport


SpaceShipTwo

Family: SpaceShipTwo
Configuration:

The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.

Specifications
  • Stages
    1
  • Length
    18.0 m
  • Diameter
    8.2 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    9 T
  • Thrust
    310 kN
Family
  • Name
    SpaceShipTwo
  • Family
    SpaceShipTwo
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    SpaceShipTwo
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

VSS Unity


Active Human Rated Crew On-board: 6 Crew Capacity: 8
Destination: Suborbital
Serial Number: N202VG

VSS Unity, previously referred to as VSS Voyager, is a SpaceShipTwo-class suborbital rocket-powered crewed spaceplane. It is the second SpaceShipTwo to be built and will be used as part of the Virgin Galactic fleet.

SpaceShipTwo Details

Crew


Michael Masucci

Pilot - American - ( VG )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: None
Age: None

David Mackay

Pilot - British - ( VG )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Jan. 1, 1957
Age: 67

Sirisha Bandla

Passenger - American - ( VG )

Status: Occasional Spaceflight

Date of Birth: Jan. 22, 1988
Age: 36

Sir Richard Branson

Passenger - British - ( VG )

Status: Occasional Spaceflight

Date of Birth: July 18, 1950
Age: 73

Colin Bennett

Passenger - American - ( VG )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: None
Age: None

Beth Moses

Passenger - American - ( VG )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: May 30, 1980
Age: 43

Virgin Galactic

Circle Image
Founder: Richard Branson Founded: 2004 Successes: 61 Failures: 5 Pending: 1

Agency Type: Private

Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company within the Virgin Group. It is developing commercial spacecraft and aims to provide suborbital spaceflights to space tourists. Virgin Galactic's suborbital spacecraft are air launched from beneath a carrier airplane known as White Knight Two.

INFO WIKI

Related News

Arstechnica

Richard Branson won the space tourism battle, but his company lost the war

"Blue Origin already won the suborbital space tourism race on July 20, 2021."

Arstechnica

The FAA grounds Virgin Galactic’s spaceship after flight deviation

"The most misleading statement today was Virgin Galactic's."

SpaceNews

FAA grounds SpaceShipTwo after problem on July flight

The Federal Aviation Administration will not allow Virgin Galactic to resume flights of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane until it completes an investigation into a problem on the vehicle’s previous flight in July.

Arstechnica

Spaceship carrying Richard Branson flew off course [Updated]

Also, an explanation of why Mark "Forger" Stucky left Virgin Galactic.

Arstechnica

Here’s why Richard Branson’s flight matters—and, yes, it really matters

“I absolutely believe this is that moment."

Air launch to Suborbital flight

Spaceport America


Falcon 9
Success
20 hours, 56 minutes ago
Starlink Group 6-52
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 22 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-51
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2D
Success
4 days, 15 hours ago
SuperView Neo 3-01
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Commercial Earth observation satellite built by CAST for China Siwei Survey and Mapping Technology Co. Ltd, with 0.5 m resolution over 9 image wavele…


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 17 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-49
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
USSF-62
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

First Weather System Follow-on (WSF) satellite. WSF-M (Weather System Follow-on - Microwave) is the next-generation operational environmental sate…


Angara A5/Blok DM-03
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Vostochny Angara Test Flight
Cosmodrome Site 1A - Vostochny Cosmodrome, Siberia, Russian Federation

First test launch of the Angara A5 launch vehicle from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. The rocket will carry a mass simulator payload.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 6-48
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Delta IV Heavy
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
NROL-70
Space Launch Complex 37B - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Classified payload for the NRO. Last flight of the Delta IV Heavy rocket.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Bandwagon 1 (Dedicated Mid-Inclination Rideshare)
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Dedicated rideshare flight to a mid-inclination orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Starlink Group 8-1
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.