VSS UNITY RETURNS TO SPACE WITH 3 ONBOARD

Spaceport USA - February 22, 2019 - For the second time in ten weeks, Virgin Galactic has reached space! A group of Future Astronauts cheered on from the flight line this morning, as VSS Unity successfully completed her fifth supersonic rocket powered test flight. Chief Pilot Dave Mackay was in the cockpit with pilot Mike ‘Sooch’ Masucci for the pair’s second powered, but first space flight, together. They were joined by our Chief Astronaut Instructor, Beth Moses. She flew in the cabin as the third crew member, acting as a Spaceflight Specialist, in a first, live evaluation of cabin dynamics.

This was an envelope expanding flight, as the world record-holding hybrid rocket motor propelled the spaceship at Mac 3.04 to an apogee of 295,007ft, which was higher and faster than the previous space flight. But this was also a seminal point in the flight test program, as Virgin Galactic starts to focus on the cabin environment and ensure the experience not only meets, but exceeds expectations.

During the several minutes of weightlessness, Beth unbuckled from her seat and floated freely to complete a number of cabin evaluation test points. Previously these were collected via sensors, but live testing of the physical elements of the cabin is fundamental to confirming a safe and enjoyable experience.

This space flight means Dave and 'Sooch' become the 569th and 570th humans in space and Beth the 571st, as well as the first woman to fly on board a commercial spaceship. Today’s flight marked a few other interesting firsts: the flight was the first time that a non-pilot flew on board a commercial spaceship to space, and it was the first time that a crew member floated freely without restraints in weightlessness in space on board a commercial spaceship; it was the first time that three people flew to space on a commercial spaceship, and Dave Mackay became the first Scottish-born astronaut (Brian Binnie, who was raised in Scotland, flew to space in 2004). Virgin Galactic couldn’t let that particular moment pass without some celebration so Dave led his crew of newly qualified astronauts from VSS Unity accompanied by a kilted piper.

Richard summed up the day neatly,"Having Beth fly in the cabin today, starting to ensure that our customer journey is as flawless as the spaceship itself, brings a huge sense of anticipation and excitement to all of us here who are looking forward to experiencing space for ourselves."

About Galactic Experiences by DePrez
Galactic Experiences by DePrez is a member of the DePrez Group Of Travel Companies, which is the largest independent travel management firm in central and western NY. Founded in 1929, the group provides extensive and diverse travel services, including cruise sales by Just Cruises, Inc. a top 50 cruise-only agency in N.A., meeting and conventions planning to fortune 100 companies and large associations, corporate travel management, and luxury travel leisure sales through Whitaker & DePrez Travel Partners LLC.

About Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic, owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS, is on track to be the world’s first commercial spaceline. The new spaceship VSS Unity) and carrier craft (WhiteKnightTwo, VMS Eve) have both been developed for Virgin Galactic by Mojave-based Scaled Composites. Founded by Burt Rutan, Scaled developed SpaceShipOne, which in 2004 claimed the $10m Ansari X Prize as the world’s first privately developed manned spacecraft. Virgin Galactic’s new vehicles share much of the same basic design, but are being built to carry six customers, or the equivalent scientific research payload, on sub-orbital space flights, allowing an out-of-the-seat, zero-gravity experience and offering astounding views of the planet from the black sky of space for tourist astronauts and a unique microgravity platform for researchers. The Virgin Galactic commercial operations, are based at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

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CRAIG CURRAN , ASA
Galactic Experiences By DePrez, DePrez Travel Bureau, Inc.
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