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Recent News

March 7, 2023

LOWERING COST OF SPACE TRAVEL Read More


February 17, 2023

VMS EVE TAKES FLIGHT!! Read More


August 2, 2022

COMING SOON!! ASTRONAUT CAMPUS & TRAINING FACILITY Read More


July 27, 2022

SPACE PERSPECTIVE UNVEILS PATENTED CAPSULE DESIGN Read More


July 6, 2022

VIRGIN GALACTIC ANNOUNCES NEXT GENERATION MOTHERSHIPS Read More


April 12, 2022

SPACE PERSPECTIVE UNVAILS IMAGES OF BALLOON CAPSULE Read More


October 25, 2021

BLUE ORIGIN & SIERRA SPACE DEVELOP SPACE STATION Read More


October 8, 2021

BLUE ORIGIN ASTRONAUT TRAINS WITH DEPREZ TRAVEL Read More


October 1, 2021

DEPREZ CHARTERS ZERO-G AIRCRAFT TO ROCHESTER Read More


August 5, 2021

VIRGIN GALACTIC ANNOUNCES Q2 FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR 2021 Read More


July 15, 2021

DEPREZ TRAVEL AND RMSC ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP Read More


July 15, 2021

MUSK BOOKED SEAT ON VIRGIN GALACTIC Read More


June 25, 2021

FAA OK'S VIRGIN GALACTIC TO LAUNCH CUSTOMERS TO SPACE Read More


June 18, 2021

SPACE PERSPECTIVE CONFIRMS SUCCESSFUL TEST FLIGHT Read More


May 22, 2021

VIRGIN GALACTIC'S FIRST HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT FROM NM Read More


February 25, 2021

VIRGIN GALACTIC ANNOUNCES Q4 HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2020 Read More


November 23, 2020

MEET PILOT CJ STURCKOW Read More


October 27, 2020

VIRGIN GALACTIC HIRES 2 NEW PILOTS Read More


June 22, 2020

VIRGIN GALACTIC SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH NASA Read More


May 1, 2020

VSS UNITY SPACESHIPTWO GOES SOLO IN NEW MEXICO Read More


February 25, 2020

ONE SMALL STEP BEGINS YOUR JOURNEY TO SPACE Read More


February 13, 2020

VSS UNITY MOVES TO SPACEPORT AMERICA Read More


October 16, 2019

YOUR SPACE SUITS HAVE BEEN REVEALED Read More


August 22, 2019

SPACEPORT AMERICA: UNVEILING NEW AREAS Read More


February 22, 2019

VSS UNITY RETURNS TO SPACE WITH 3 ONBOARD Read More


January 7, 2019

NEW MOMENT IN SPACE HISTORY Read More


December 13, 2018

VIRGIN GALACTIC'S VSS UNITY REACHES SPACE Read More


December 7, 2018

ORION SPAN - DEMOCRATIZATION OF SPACE STARTS TODAY! Read More


July 26, 2018

VG ANNOUNCES VSS UNITY BREAKS MACH 2 Read More


July 6, 2018

VG ANNOUNCES FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT WITH ITALY Read More


April 9, 2018

SPACE HOTEL EYES 2021 LAUNCH DATE Read More


April 5, 2018

ORION SPAN ANNOUNCES WORLD'S 1st LUXURY SPACE HOTEL Read More


April 5, 2018

VSS UNITY'S FIRST POWERED TEST FLIGHT Read More


August 4, 2017

UPDATE: VSS UNITY 6th GLIDE FLIGHT Read More


May 1, 2017

VSS UNITY'S FIRST FEATHER FLIGHT Read More


December 3, 2016

VSS UNITY COMPLETES HER FIRST GLIDE FLIGHT Read More


September 8, 2016

VIRGIN GALACTIC IS IN THE AIR AGAIN! Read More


May 22, 2015

VG FIRST MAJOR MILESTONE IN RETURN TO FLIGHT PLAN Read More


Dec 5, 2014

NASA LAUNCHES ORION SPACECRAFT - FIRST STEP TO MARS Read More


May 23, 2014

VG VIRGIN GALACTIC ROCKET MOTOR MILESTONE Read More


January 10, 2014

VG 3rd POWERED TEST FLIGHT SUCESSFUL Read More


September 5, 2013

VG ACHIEVES SECOND SUPERSONIC FLIGHT Read More


May 29, 2013

VG SEAT NEXT TO LEONARDO DICAPRIO AUCTIONED FOR $1.5 MILLION Read More


May 29, 2013

CURRAN INTERVIEWED BY DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE Read More


June 28, 2012

SPACE TOURISM IS HERE! NY TIMES INTERVIEWS CRAIG CURRAN Read More


Read Archives


VSS UNITY'S FIRST POWERED TEST FLIGHT

 

 

April 5, 2018 - We are delighted to report on a major step forward for Virgin Galactic today, as SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity safely and successfully completed her first supersonic, rocket-powered flight. After two years of extensive ground and atmospheric testing, the passing of this milestone marks the start of the final portion of Unity’s flight test program.

The flight was also significant for Virgin Galactic’s Mojave based, sister manufacturing organization, The Spaceship Company. Unity is the first vehicle to be built from scratch for Virgin Galactic by The Spaceship Company’s talented team of aerospace engineers and technicians. They were justifiably proud today to be a part of this compelling demonstration of their capabilities in action.

VSS Unity benefits from all the data and lessons gathered from the test program of her predecessor vehicle, VSS Enterprise. Today’s flight saw an envelope expansion for the program as a whole in terms of rocket burn duration, speed and altitude achieved.

VSS Unity took off this morning into clear Mojave skies at 8:02am with Mark “Forger” Stucky and Dave Mackay in the cockpit, attached to the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, piloted today by Mike Masucci and Nicola Pecile.

The mated vehicles climbed to a launch altitude of around 46,500ft over the Sierra Nevada Mountains and while pointing back at Mojave, Eve executed a clean release of Unity. After a few seconds, Unity’s rocket motor was brought to life and the pilots aimed the spaceship upwards into an 80 degree climb, accelerating to Mach 1.87 during the 30 seconds of rocket burn. The hybrid (nitrous oxide / HTPB compound) rocket motor, which was designed, built and tested by The Spaceship Company, powered Unity today through the transonic range and into supersonic flight for the first time.

On rocket shutdown, Unity continued an upwards coast to an apogee of 84,271ft before readying for the downhill return. At this stage, the pilots raised the vehicle’s tail booms to a 60 degree angle to the fuselage, into the ‘feathered’ configuration. This unique design feature, which is key to a reliable and repeatable re-entry capability for a winged vehicle, incorporates the additional safety mechanisms adopted after the 2014 VSS Enterprise test flight accident.

At around 50,000ft, the tail-booms were lowered again and, while jettisoning the remaining oxidizer, Unity turned towards Mojave for the glide home and a smooth runway landing.

The flight has generated valuable data on flight, motor and vehicle performance which our engineers will be reviewing. It also marks a key moment for the test flight program, entering now the exciting phase of powered flight and the expansion to full duration rocket burns. While we celebrate that achievement, the team remains focused on the challenging tasks which still lie ahead.

Congratulations to our teams at Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company for a job well done today - and in recognition of their pursuit to open space and change the world for good.

Please stay tuned to this site for more information as Virgin Galactic's flight testing program progresses.


Pilots from Left: Todd Ericson, David Mackay, Michael 'Sooch' Masucci, Kelly Latimer, Mark 'Forger' Stucky, CJ Sturckow, & Nicola Pecile

 

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.

About Galactic Experiences by DePrez
Galactic Experiences by DePrez is a member of the DePrez Group Of Travel Companies and 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 of 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.

For additional information please contact Craig Curran at ccurran@galacticexperiencesbydeprez.com.

 

 

For More Information Please Contact:

CRAIG CURRAN , ASA
Galactic Experiences By DePrez, DePrez Travel Bureau, Inc.
585-442-8900 X224

 

Accredited Virgin Galactic Space Agent

 

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