Virgin Galactic Announces First Fully Crewed Spaceflight
July 01 2021 - 6:15PM
Business Wire
Test Flight Window for Unity 22 Mission Opens
July 11 Four Mission Specialists to Evaluate Virgin Galactic
Astronaut Experience Virgin Galactic Founder Sir Richard Branson
Among Mission Specialists First Global Livestream of Virgin
Galactic Spaceflight
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (the “Company” or
“Virgin Galactic”), a vertically integrated aerospace and space
travel company, today announced that the flight window for the next
rocket-powered test flight of its SpaceShipTwo Unity opens July 11,
pending weather and technical checks.
The “Unity 22” mission will be the twenty-second flight test for
VSS Unity and the Company’s fourth crewed spaceflight. It will also
be the first to carry a full crew of two pilots and four mission
specialists in the cabin, including the Company’s founder, Sir
Richard Branson, who will be testing the private astronaut
experience.
Building on the success of the Company’s most recent spaceflight
in May, Unity 22 will focus on cabin and customer experience
objectives, including:
- Evaluating the commercial customer cabin with a full crew,
including the cabin environment, seat comfort, the weightless
experience, and the views of Earth that the spaceship delivers —
all to ensure every moment of the astronaut’s journey maximizes the
wonder and awe created by space travel
- Demonstrating the conditions for conducting human-tended
research experiments
- Confirming the training program at Spaceport America supports
the spaceflight experience
For the first time, Virgin Galactic will share a global
livestream of the spaceflight. Audiences around the world are
invited to participate virtually in the Unity 22 test flight and
see first-hand the extraordinary experience Virgin Galactic is
creating for future astronauts. The livestream will be available to
watch on Virgin Galactic.com and will be simulcast on the Virgin
Galactic Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook channels. It is expected to
begin at 7:00 am MDT / 9:00 am EDT on the day of the flight.
The flight’s four mission specialists will be:
- Beth Moses, Chief Astronaut Instructor at Virgin Galactic.
Moses will serve as cabin lead and test director in space,
overseeing the safe and efficient execution of the test flight
objectives.
- Colin Bennett, Lead Operations Engineer at Virgin Galactic.
Bennett will evaluate cabin equipment, procedures, and experience
during both the boost phase and in the weightless environment.
- Sirisha Bandla, Vice President of Government Affairs and
Research Operations at Virgin Galactic. Bandla will be evaluating
the human-tended research experience, using an experiment from the
University of Florida that requires several handheld fixation tubes
that will be activated at various points in the flight
profile.
- Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic. Branson will
evaluate the private astronaut experience and will undergo the same
training, preparation and flight as Virgin Galactic’s future
astronauts. The Company will use his observations from his flight
training and spaceflight experience to enhance the journey for all
future astronaut customers.
The pilots for this mission are Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci
flying VSS Unity, and CJ Sturckow and Kelly Latimer flying VMS
Eve.
Following this flight, and in line with normal procedures, the
team will complete inspections of the vehicles and an extensive
data review, which will inform the next steps in the test flight
program. Two additional test flights are planned before the Company
expects to commence commercial service in 2022.
Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic,
said: “Our next flight—the 22nd flight test for VSS Unity and our
first fully crewed flight test—is a testament to the dedication and
technical brilliance of our entire team, and I’d like to extend a
special thank you to our pilots and mission specialists, each of
whom will be performing important work. Tapping into Sir Richard’s
expertise and long history of creating amazing customer experiences
will be invaluable as we work to open the wonder of space travel
and create awe-inspiring journeys for our customers.”
Sir Richard Branson said: “I truly believe that space belongs to
all of us. After more than 16 years of research, engineering, and
testing, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial
space industry, which is set to open space to humankind and change
the world for good. It’s one thing to have a dream of making space
more accessible to all; it’s another for an incredible team to
collectively turn that dream into reality. As part of a remarkable
crew of mission specialists, I’m honoured to help validate the
journey our future astronauts will undertake and ensure we deliver
the unique customer experience people expect from Virgin.”
You can download all press materials including images and
broll from the Virgin Galactic Press
Assets
About Virgin Galactic Holdings
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a vertically integrated
aerospace and space travel company, pioneering human spaceflight
for private individuals and researchers with its advanced air and
space vehicles. It is developing a spaceflight system designed to
connect the world to the wonder and awe created by space travel and
to offer customers a transformative experience. You can find more
information at https://www.virgingalactic.com/
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Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of federal securities laws with respect to
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (the "Company"), including
statements regarding the Company’s spaceflight systems, markets and
expected flight schedule. These forward-looking statements
generally are identified by words such as “believe,” “project,”
“expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,”
“opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and
similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions,
projections and other statements about future events that are based
on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are
subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual
future events to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements in this press release, including but not limited to the
factors, risks and uncertainties included in Amendment No. 2 to our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2020, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"),
accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor
Relations section of our website at www.virgingalactic.com. These
filings identify and address other important risks and
uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual events and
results to differ materially from those contained in the
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put
undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and, except as
required by law, the Company assumes no obligation and does not
intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
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For media inquiries: Aleanna Crane - Vice President
Communications Virgingalacticpress@virgingalactic.com +1 575 800
4422 For Investor Relations inquiries: Seth Zaslow - Vice
President Investor Relations seth.zaslow@virgingalactic.com +1 714
732 4780
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