VIRGIN GALACTIC HIRES TWO NEW PILOTS

Virgin Galactic Project Update

October 27, 2020 - Spaceport USA - As the team in New Mexico prepare for the first spaceflight out of Spaceport America this autumn, we bring you a wrap up of recent news starting with today’s announcement which sees Virgin Galactic welcoming two new pilots to our world class pilot corps, bringing their total number of pilots to eight.

Both Jameel and Patrick bring a wealth of aircraft flight and flight test experience; they were picked from a small group of specialized pilots who meet the strict criteria needed to be considered for the role of a Virgin Galactic pilot. Each of them has flown in both military and commercial roles, involving training, operations and test, as well as flying passengers and managing crew. Jameel has completed over 4,000 flying hours in more than 45 different aircraft types throughout his career, which spans over twenty years in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He completed exchange tours for the Royal Air Force and the U.S Air Force and is on the Board of Directors for the Society of Experimental Test Pilots {SETP}. Patrick served as a pilot in the Marine Corps for twenty years, including roles as a test pilot, test pilot school instructor, and the lead government test pilot for Navy and Marine Corps versions of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. He then entered business aviation as a broker, consultant and charter pilot, and joins Virgin Galactic with over 3,000 flight hours in 34 different aircraft.

Dave Mackay, Virgin Galactic’s Chief Pilot said: “I am delighted to welcome Jameel Janjua and Pat Moran to the Virgin Galactic Pilot Corps. Jameel and Pat both come with a tremendous range and depth of experience of both military and civilian aviation, and test flying in particular. Their backgrounds, in addition to their accomplished interpersonal skills, will make them hugely valuable - particularly as we prepare for, and soon enter, commercial passenger operations. Virgin Galactic is fortunate to have secured the services of two such high calibre pilots, and we eagerly anticipate their contributions to the team as a whole.”

Jameel Janjua said, “Helping to democratize space travel is a unique honor, and I am thrilled and humbled to be joining the Virgin Galactic Pilot Corps. With society on the cusp of opening space to all humankind, I cannot think of a more privileged role than to be a small part of the amazing team guiding people to their dreams and beyond. I am excited to join our Future Astronauts on their personal and insightful journeys and I’m looking forward to witnessing, first-hand, the variety of reactions these life-changing experiences will evoke.”

Patrick Moran said, “I am excited to join this fantastic team of talented pioneers leading the charge for commercial space travel and now in the final stages of its flight test program. As a flight instructor, I loved to take people flying in the F/A-18 for the first time, to see their huge smiles as they climbed out of the cockpit. I can’t wait to share the experience of going to space with our Future Astronauts and to see their reactions as they step out of the spaceship and describe their views of Earth from space!”

Two additional people making great strides in this area are Sirisha Bandla and Alan Stern. A recent interview with Sirisha Bandla, VP of Government Affairs, describes how payloads are flown and explains that by providing this access to scientists, engineers and educators too, they have the potential to make life-changing discoveries for all of us back here on Earth.

Alan Stern, fellow Future Astronaut and planetary scientist with Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), has been chosen to be the first NASA-funded astronaut to fly on a Virgin Galactic human-tended research flight. He will be among the first to conduct NASA-funded science experiments while flying aboard a commercial spacecraft.

About Galactic Experiences by DePrez
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About Virgin Galactic Holdings
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a vertically integrated aerospace company, pioneering human spaceflight for private individuals and researchers, as well as a manufacturer of advanced air and space vehicles. Using its proprietary and reusable technologies and supported by a distinctive, Virgin-branded customer experience, it is developing a spaceflight system designed to offer customers a unique, multi-day, transformative experience. This culminates in a spaceflight that includes views of Earth from space and several minutes of weightlessness that will launch from Spaceport America, New Mexico. Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company believe that one of the most exciting and significant opportunities of our time lies in the commercial exploration of space and the development of technology that will change the way we travel across the globe in the future. Together we are opening access to space to change the world for good.

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