Skip to main content

Virgin Galactic shares footage of final space tourism flight test

Virgin Galactic has successfully completed what should be its final test flight before launching commercial services for its sub-orbital rocket flights next month.

Thursday’s mission was the second fully crewed test flight following the first one in 2021 when Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson flew with five others to the edge of space in the rocket-powered VSS Unity aircraft.

Recommended Videos

Virgin Galactic shared a highlights reel that included Unity blasting skyward and the crew floating in the cabin high over Earth:

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Three words we love to hear: "Welcome to space!" Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Next stop: Commercial Service! Watch the official #VirginGalactic recap from our #Unity25 spaceflight. pic.twitter.com/IawvG0vN5i

— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) May 26, 2023

Following the same steps as Branson’s flight, the VMS Eve aircraft carried VSS Unity to an altitude of 50,000 feet after taking off from its Spaceport America facility in New Mexico at 10:37 a.m. local time.

After releasing Unity at 44,500 feet, the plane fired up its rocket engine, powering the crew to an altitude of 54.2 miles, about eight miles short of the Kármán line, the point generally considered as where space begins.

Following a few minutes of weightlessness and a moment to marvel at the amazing views of Earth, the crew — all Virgin Galactic employees — returned to their seats for the ride home to the runway at Spaceport America, touching down at 10:37 a.m. local time.

“The Unity 25 mission was a fantastic achievement for everyone at Virgin Galactic,” company CEO Michael Colglazier said after Unity returned safely home. “Witnessing our inspiring crew’s pure joy upon landing, I have complete confidence in the unique astronaut experience we have built for our customers.”

Virgin Galactic said the next task for the team is to carefully inspect the Eve and Unity vehicles and review all other gathered data in the coming weeks. After that, it’ll be in a position to confirm Virgin Galactic’s first commercial flight — Galactic 01 — which is currently slated for June.

While Thursday’s flight was smooth, getting here hasn’t been easy for Virgin Galactic. An in-flight breakup during a test mission in 2014 killed pilot Michael Alsbury and delayed the project by several years, with a string of other issues also slowing things down.

But with Thursday’s flight in the bag, Virgin Galactic could be on course to launch a commercial service just weeks from now, offering wealthy folks and funded passengers the chance of an unforgettable ride to the edge of space.

Hundreds of people have already paid as much as $450,000 each for a seat, and so Virgin Galactic will be keen to finally launch a space tourism service not only to please its patient customers but also to keep the business afloat.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
SpaceX makes incredible booster catch but loses rocket on seventh Starship test flight
SpaceX

SpaceX has made an incredible catch of its Super Heavy Booster during the seventh test flight of its Starship rocket, but has lost the vehicle. Launched at 5:37 p.m. ET today, Thursday January 16, from SpaceX's facility in Boca Chica, Texas, this is only the second time that the enormous booster of the Starship has been caught, as part of SpaceX's aim to create a reusable heavy lift vehicle.

However, the upper stage of the Starship -- the part which should travel into orbit and deploy payloads -- seemed to have issues with its engines during its ascent, and communications with it were lost around 10 minutes after launch, around the time of main engine cut-off.

Read more
SpaceX won’t be launching its big Starship test flight today after all
SpaceX's Super Heavy booster on the launchpad ahead of the Starship's seventh test flight.

Space watchers had been gearing up for an exciting evening tonight as SpaceX was set to launch its mighty Starship on its seventh test flight to date. The hope was to launch the massive rocket and have it deploy a payload for the first time, as well as facing the daunting challenge of trying to catch the rocket's Super Heavy Booster at the launch tower in Boca Chica, Texas.

However, now the test flight has been pushed back by one day due to weather conditions. The launch had been scheduled for tonight, Wednesday January 15, but SpaceX announced it would delay the flight until 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 16 with a 60-minute launch window. Though rockets can typically handle some adverse weather conditions such as winds and rain, high winds or the possibility of lightning strikes could cause problems for delicate electronics, so launches generally wait for clear conditions.

Read more
SpaceX reveals date for the seventh flight of its Starship megarocket
The Super Heavy booster's Raptor engines powering the Starship's launch on November 19, 2024.

SpaceX is targeting Monday, January 13, for the seventh test flight of its Starship megarocket.

The 120-meter-vehicle will lift off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, as it did on its six previous test flights.

Read more