The Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo spaceplane Unity and mothership gracefully part ways as they glide above Spaceport America in New Mexico in July 2021, venturing towards the cosmos.
Virgin Galactic recently completed its final spaceflight before a two-year hiatus to enhance its fleet, aiming to achieve profitability in the realm of space tourism.
“Galactic07 has returned to Earth, now as astronauts!” announced the company on X, formerly known as Twitter, celebrating the successful journey of two pilots and two passengers. “Our skilled pilots, crew, and spacecraft have safely landed at Spaceport America, New Mexico.”
A large carrier plane took off at 8:31 am Mountain Time, ascending to an altitude of approximately 44,500 feet (13,500 meters) over a span of 50 minutes.
Subsequently, it released a spaceplane from beneath its wings, propelling it at supersonic speeds towards the edge of space. Here, passengers experienced moments of weightlessness and marveled at the curvature of the Earth.
The spaceplane touched down on the same runway at 9:41 am, reaching a speed of Mach 2.96, nearly three times the speed of sound.
Among the passengers was Tuva Atasever, an astronaut from the Turkish space agency whose seat was secured through Axiom, another space company. The identities of the other three passengers were disclosed post-landing.
2024-06-09 05:00:02
Link from phys.org