Reaching space for the first time In the autumn 2018 edition of The Log, Virgin Galactic’s Chief Test Pilot explained the project. So, what’s happened since? By David Mackay, Virgin Galactic Chief Test Pilot VIRGIN GALACTIC VIEWS OF EARTH On 13th December 2018, Virgin Galactic completed its fourth powered flight with spaceship Unity. This was a major step forward in the envelope expansion programme. A long duration rocket motor burn took the vehicle to an altitude of more than 50 miles and, for the first time, into space. Unity and her rocket motor performed beautifully; all systems worked perfectly. In the wonder of weightlessness, the crew enjoyed stunning views of Earth. This was a hugely significant flight – the first human spaceflight from US soil for seven years since the Shuttle retired and the first voyage into space by a commercial passenger spacecraft. Not least, it gave a huge sense of fulfilment to those who have worked so hard over the years to make it happen. Fittingly, Sir Richard Branson, and his son, Sam, were there to witness the event and welcome the crews back to Earth after their smooth re-entry and gentle runway landing. In addition, this was a payload flight, meaning that the cabin was configured with payload racks, containing four experiments flying under the NASA Flight Opportunities Program. Hence, it was also Virgin Galactic’s first revenue-generating flight. The cabin also contained UNITY AND HER ROCKET MOTOR PERFORMED BEAUTIFULLY; ALL SYSTEMS WORKED PERFECTLY. IN THE WONDER OF WEIGHTLESSNESS, THE CREW ENJOYED STUNNING an instrumented mannequin to gather more data on the cabin environment, demonstrating a potential future capability to fly a mixed cabin; payloads which, if required, could be accompanied and tended to by a Payload Specialist. FREQUENT FLYER After a well-earned break over Christmas and new year, the team is now busy preparing Unity for her next flight into space early this year. In commercial service, Unity will be capable of frequent spaceflights and the team is beginning to focus on a reduction in the turnaround times. It helps that the spaceship’s systems are simple: electrical power is from batteries, and the pressurisation, feather and feather lock, speedbrake and reaction control system (for vehicle orientation outside the atmosphere) all use air from pressurised bottles with multiple redundancy. Soon, we will begin to evaluate the cabin experience with humans (as opposed to mannequins), checking out the commercial cabin seating and equipment in flight, while experiencing the same wondrous views of the Earth – as well as several minutes of weightlessness. In commercial operations, customers will not be required to wear bulky pressure suits or heavy, hard and claustrophobic helmets. The cabin pressurisation system is simple, has so much redundancy, and is verified in flight before every release from the mothership. Passengers will be given space suits from our technical spacewear partner, Under Armour. The flight test programme is not over. Work remains to be done before the first customers can board. Meanwhile, the team is hugely satisfied with the performance of both WhiteKnight and SpaceShipTwo, and their exceptional flight profile.