Virgin Galactic is attempting its longest rocket-powered flight ever on Thursday, aiming to take a step ahead in the nascent business of space tourism.
If successful, the two pilots on board Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft Unity would become the company’s first astronauts. In this test flight, Virgin Galactic plans “to burn the rocket motor for durations which will see our pilots and spaceship reach space for the first time,” the company said.
Lifted by the jet-powered mothership Eve, the spacecraft Unity took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in the California desert. Once it reaches an altitude of 46,500 feet above the desert, the carrier aircraft will release Unity. The two-member crew of Mark Stucky and Dave Mackay will then pilot the spacecraft in a roaring burn expected to last about 50 seconds. The flight will should push Unity to more than twice the speed of sound as it heads for the edge of space.
After performing a slow backflip in microgravity, Unity will turn and glide back to land at Mojave. This is the company’s fourth rocket-powered flight of the current test program.
The spacecraft underwent extensive engine testing and seven glide tests before Virgin Galactic said it was ready for a powered test flight — a crucial milestone before the company begins sending tourists to the edge of the atmosphere. Each of the previous three test flights were successful in pushing the spacecraft’s limits farther.
Virgin Galactic expects this test flight will cross an altitude of 50 miles, or about 80 kilometers. The U.S. military and NASA consider pilots who have flown above that height to be astronauts. Test pilots in 2004 were awarded a commercial astronaut badge by the Federal Aviation Administration for flying previous, experimental iteration of Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft design.
