Virgin Galactic launches 2 pilots, 4 passengers to the edge of space and back

Two pilots, a Turkish research astronaut and three private citizens traveled to space and returned on Saturday on board virgin galacticfrom the Unity space plane, enjoying spectacular views of Earth and about three minutes of weightlessness before returning to touch down in New Mexico.

It was the 12th suborbital flight piloted by the company, the seventh with paying customers on board and the last Unity flight as Virgin develops its more capable Delta spaceplanes, expected to begin commercial operations in 2026.

With veteran pilot Nicola Pecile and rookie Jameel Janjua at the controls, Unity was transported from Spaceport America in New Mexico by Virgin Galactic’s twin-fuselage ferry Eve, lifting off at 10:31 a.m. EDT.

Following Virgin’s standard flight plan, the carrier jet launched the space plane an hour later at an altitude of 44,500 feet. Pecile and Janjua then ignited the ship’s hybrid rocket engine to begin a supersonic ascent out of the dense lower atmosphere.

Minutes later, traveling at almost three times the speed of sound, the engine cut off and passengers released their seatbelts to float around the cabin and marvel at the view. Unity reached an altitude of 57 kilometers, just above the somewhat arbitrary altitude of 80 kilometers that NASA and the US military consider the “limit” of space.

Joining Pecile and Janjua on Virgin’s second flight this year were Italian Giorgio Manenti, Irving Pergament of New York, Californian Anand Sadhwani and Tuva Atasever, the second Turkish astronaut to fly into space.

Atasever was sponsored by Houston’s Axiom Space to conduct microgravity research to learn more about the effects of weightlessness. It was Axiom’s first suborbital flight after sending 12 commercial astronauts to the International Space Station on three missions, including Alper Gezeravci, Turkey’s first astronaut.

“As a country, this will take our space research to the next level and hopefully enlighten and inspire generations to come,” Atasever said Friday.

Shortly after Unity passed the top of its trajectory, all four passengers settled into their seats for the long flight back to Earth and landing on Spaceport America’s 15,000-foot-long runway. The duration of the mission, from takeoff to landing, was about an hour.

“Congratulations @AstroTuva on a successful mission!” Axiom said on social media platform X. “The research conducted during #Galactic07 contributes to Türkiye’s scientific efforts in space, part of a larger effort to expand the country’s space exploration capabilities and establish a national human space flight program.” “

It was the final flight of Virgin’s Unity spaceplane during the company’s transition to the new Delta design, “it was a breathtaking and proud moment as we celebrated the spacecraft’s unprecedented achievements in human spaceflight and built momentum for launch of our first Delta Class ships in 2026,” Virgin CEO Michael Colglazier said in a web post.

With Saturday’s flight, Virgin Galactic has already launched 61 passengers and crew, including several who have flown more than once, on 12 suborbital space flights since an initial test flight in December 2018. The passenger list includes the company’s founder , Richard Branson, who was available for Saturday’s flight.

Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, also offers suborbital spaceflight using a more traditional ground-launched rocket and manned capsule known as the New Shepard. The fully automated spacecraft can carry six passengers at a time.

Blue Origin has launched 38 space tourists, including Bezos, since crewed flights began in July 2021.