Virgin Galactic has revealed the crew members who will probably be aboard the upcoming “Galactic 01” mission on June twenty ninth, the corporate’s first fully industrial crewed spaceflight. Announced on Monday, Colin Bennett, Virgin Galactic’s lead astronaut instructor, will probably be joined by Walter Villadei and Angelo Landolfi — two senior members of the Italian airforce — and Pantaleone Carlucci, a pilot and technical engineer from the National Research Council of Italy.
If the mission is successful, Virgin Galactic could soon start competing with rival corporations offering industrial passenger flights into space, reminiscent of SpaceX and the Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin.
The crew will conduct several suborbital science experiments in the course of the 90-minute flight, reminiscent of testing equipment for measuring cosmic radiation and studying various materials in microgravity conditions. The cabin of the SpaceShipTwo vehicle VSS Unity — the rocket-powered spaceplane housing Virgin Galactic’s passengers — will probably be converted into an appropriate suborbital science lab to conduct the experiments. Former US Air Force lieutenant colonel Michael Masucci will pilot the VSS Unity, while experienced US military pilots Kelly Latimer and Jameel Janjua will fly the VMS Eve, the mothership that carries Unity into space.
“Galactic 01 is our first industrial spaceflight and we’re honored to have been chosen by the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council to support their first space research mission,” said Michael Colglazier, chief executive of Virgin Galactic, in a press release. “Virgin Galactic’s research missions will usher in a brand new era of repeatable and reliable access to space for presidency and research institutions for years to return.”
Virgin Galactic first signed the contract for this mission with the Italian Air Force back in 2019, estimating the flight would happen between late 2020 and early 2021. Several aspects, reminiscent of supply chain issues and labor constraints, led to this being delayed. The US Federal Aviation Authority moreover grounded all Virgin Galactic flights in late 2021 until it accomplished an investigation into technical issues that arose in the course of the Unity 22 mission carrying Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson.
A successful test flight conducted in May this 12 months was Virgin Galactic’s first crewed mission in almost two years. A second industrial spaceflight dubbed “Galactic 02” is anticipated to happen in early August (though no specific dates have been provided), which the corporate anticipates will probably be followed by monthly spaceflights.
Newer space-based ventures, nonetheless, haven’t played out well for Virgin — Virgin Orbit, the corporate’s service for launching small industrial satellites that spun off from Virgin Galactic in 2017, ceased operations earlier this 12 months after it was unable to secure additional funding just two months after its failed mission in Cornwall, UK.