The VSS Unity spacecraft from Virgin Galactic flew to the edge of space 89 kilometers (55 miles) above the Earth’s surface on Saturday before returning to Earth. The company has launched the aircraft from third place to open the space tourism market and this is the first of its optimized named spaceport in New Mexico. Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson said in a statement, “Fifteen years ago, New Mexico set out to build the world’s first commercial spaceport.”
“Today, we launched the first human spaceflight from the same location, marking an important milestone for both the Virgin Galactic and New Mexico. I am proud of the team for their hard work and grateful to the New Mexicans who have been steadfast in their commitment to commercial spaceflight from day one. Their faith and support have made today’s historic achievement possible.” The spacecraft was flown at an altitude of 13 kilometers (44,000 feet) by the custom-built “mothership” VMS Eve, which became a seasoned aircraft in 300 flights before its release, where the aircraft carried its own rocket engine. It’s space.
Although the altitude reached it was considered a location by the U.S. Air Force, the mission could not cross the Kerman Line (100 km altitude) recognized by the Federation Aeronautics International as the environmental wind end point. For many it will be close enough. The VSS Unity is configured to carry six passengers and two crew it is predecessor SpaceShipOne a prototype whose small size limits its carrying capacity unlike Virgin Galactic crews will a few months before the start of the journey, although NASA tests- was taken to the audit board.
The unity flew for half an hour after its release, reaching the Mac 3.5 before gliding back to the spaceport. It was Unity’s sixth powered flight, after many demonstrations of its gliding ability. The airline expects commercial flights to begin later this year. While previous timelines have often been pushed back as JWST, everything from crashes to COVID can cause delays. Spaceflight was conducted in a desperate world to find contaminated-removal alternatives to existing modes of transport so that people could enjoy the view without scientific convenience and face lots of pushback.
Virgin argued that its wind launching system required less fuel than ground-based rocket boosters, while the carbon composites that both Unity and EV are made of are much lighter than steel for the same power and further reduce fuel consumption. Such concerns are not waiting for at least customer’s $250,000 customers to wait too long.
