Astronomy:VSS Unity

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Short description: American commercial sub-orbitable space ship


VSS Unity
Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo "Unity" rollout 19Feb2016, FAITH hangar, Mojave, California.jpg
Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Unity rollout, 19 February 2016, FAITH hangar, Mojave, California
Type Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo
Manufacturer The Spaceship Company
Construction number 2[1]
Registration N202VG[2]
First flight
  • 8 September 2016[3]
    (captive carry flight)
  • 3 December 2016
    (glide flight)
  • 5 April 2018
    (powered flight)
  • 13 December 2018
    (spaceflight dependent upon definition)
Owners and operators Virgin Galactic
In service 2016-2024

VSS Unity (Virgin Space Ship Unity, registration: N202VG), previously referred to as VSS Voyager, is a SpaceShipTwo-class suborbital rocket-powered crewed spaceplane. It is the second SpaceShipTwo to be built and is part of the Virgin Galactic fleet. It first reached space as defined by the United States (above 50 miles or 80.5 km) on 13 December 2018, on the VP-03 mission.[4]

Unity is able to reach space as defined by the U.S. Air Force, NASA, and the FAA, by going over 50 miles (80.5 km) above sea level. However, it is unable to go above the Kármán line, the FAI's defined space boundary of 100 km (62.1 miles).

VSS Unity was rolled out on 19 February 2016[5][6] and completed ground-based system integration testing in September 2016, prior to its first flight on 8 September 2016.[3][7][8]

Unity will be retired in 2024 as Virgin Galactic shifts its focus to the next generation Delta-class vehicles.

Overview

VSS Unity, the second SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane for Virgin Galactic,[9] is the first SpaceShipTwo built by The Spaceship Company. The ship's name was announced on 19 February 2016.[4] Prior to the naming announcement, the craft was referred to as SpaceShipTwo, Serial Number Two.[10][11] There was speculation in 2004 that Serial Number Two would be named VSS Voyager,[12] an unofficial name that was repeatedly used in media coverage.[13][14][15] The name Unity was chosen by British physicist Stephen Hawking. Hawking's eye is also used as the model for the eye logo on the side of Unity.[16]

History

VSS Unity under construction

The manufacture of Unity began in 2012.[2] The spacecraft's registration, N202VG, was filed in September 2014.[17] As of early November 2014, the build of Unity was about 90 percent structurally complete, and 65 percent complete overall. As of April 2015, ground tests of Unity were projected to be able to begin as early as late 2015,[18] after being projected as early as mid-2015 as of November 2014.[1][19][20] On 21 May 2015, Unity reached the milestone of bearing the weight of the airframe on its own wheels.[21] The spaceship was unveiled on 19 February 2016,[22] as Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson had projected in November 2015; ground and flight testing commenced thereafter.[23][24]

VSS Unity is the second SpaceShipTwo to be completed; the first, VSS Enterprise, was destroyed in a crash in late October 2014.[9][14]

After rollout and unveiling, a phase of testing called "Integrated Vehicle Ground Testing" began on VSS Unity in February 2016.[8]

Test flight program

VSS Unity will undergo a test regimen similar to VSS Enterprise, then will embark on testing beyond what Enterprise experienced. The test flights are expected to be fewer, as Enterprise has already tested the design's responses under numerous conditions. For each flight test, the White Knight Two aircraft carries Unity to altitude. Testing began with captive carry flights, in which Unity was not released from its carrier aircraft. Testing then progressed to free-flight glide testing, and will continue with powered test flights. It is possible that only two or three flights under each regime previously tested will be performed, instead of the five or ten that Enterprise performed.[25]

On 8 September 2016, Virgin Galactic commenced flight testing of Unity with a captive-carry flight.[7] On 1 November 2016, Virgin Galactic conducted another captive-carry flight of Unity but cancelled the glide portion of the flight because of wind speed.[26] On 3 November and 30 November, additional captive-carry flights took place.[27][28][29]

In July 2017, Richard Branson suggested that the craft was to begin powered tests at three-week intervals.[30] In September 2017, CEO George Whitesides suggested that engine testing was complete, and that only a "small number of glide flights" remained before VSS Unity would begin powered test flights.[31] The first powered flight test took place on 5 April 2018 when a 30-second rocket firing accelerated Unity to a speed of Mach 1.87 and an altitude of 84,271 ft (25,686 m).[32][33] The first powered test flight of Unity exceeded the altitude of all powered test flights of its predecessor, Enterprise.[34]

VSS Unity VP-03, the first suborbital spaceflight of VSS Unity was successfully completed on 13 December 2018, surpassing the 50 miles (80 km) altitude considered the boundary of outer space by NASA and the United States Air Force.[35][36]

Following its February 2019 flight to space, VSS Unity began to undergo modifications including installation of the commercial cabin, and changes to cockpit displays.[37] Upon completion of these modifications, VSS Unity along with its carrier craft, VMS Eve, were moved to Spaceport America in New Mexico in February 2020.[38] After completing two additional glide tests in New Mexico in May and June 2020, VSS Unity underwent final modifications to the commercial cabin[39] and in July 2020, Virgin Galactic first publicly showed the interior of the space craft.[40]

The flights of VSS Unity will stop mid-2024 to focus the effort on the next generation Delta-class vehicles, expected for 2025-26.[41]

SpaceShipTwo flights
Flight Date Outcome Top speed Altitude Crew
VSS Unity VP-03 13 December 2018 Success Mach 2.9 [42] 82.72 km (51.40 mi) Mark P. Stucky and Frederick W. Sturckow
VSS Unity VF-01 22 February 2019 Success Mach 3.04 [43] 89.9 km (55.9 mi) [44] Dave Mackay, Michael Masucci, and Beth Moses (passenger)
VSS Unity VF-02 12 December 2020, 16:15 UTC (aborted)[45] Aborted prior to ignition N/A N/A Dave Mackay and Frederick W. Sturckow[46]
VSS Unity 21 22 May 2021, 15:26 UTC Success Mach 3 89.2 km (55.4 mi) Dave Mackay and Frederick W. Sturckow[47]
VSS Unity 22 11 July 2021, 15:04 UTC Success[lower-alpha 1] Mach 3.2 86 km (53 mi) David Mackay, Michael Masucci, Sirisha Bandla, Colin Bennett, Beth Moses and Richard Branson
VSS Unity Unity 25 25 May 2023, 16:23 UTC[49] Success Mach 2.94[50] 87.2 km (54.2 mi) Michael Masucci, Frederick W. Sturckow, Beth Moses, Luke Mays, Jamila Gilbert, Christopher Huie
Galactic 01 Success Mach 2.88 85.1 km (52.9 mi) Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Pantaleone Carlucci and Colin Bennett
Galactic 02 10 August 2023, 15:17 UTC[51] Success Mach 3.00 88.5 km (55.0 mi) CJ Sturckow, Kelly Latimer, Beth Moses, Jon Goodwin, Keisha Schahaff, Anastatia Mayers
Galactic 03 8 September 2023, 15:22 UTC[52] Success Mach 2.95 88.6 km (55.1 mi) Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Beth Moses, Timothy Nash, Ken Baxter, Adrian Reynard[53]
Galactic 04 6 October 2023, 16:10 UTC[54] Success Mach 2.95 87.4 km (54.3 mi) Kelly Latimer, CJ Sturckow, Beth Moses, Ron Rosano, Trevor Beattie, Namira Salim
Galactic 05 2 November 2023, 15:44 UTC[55] Success Mach 2.96 87.2 km (54.2 mi) Michael Masucci, Kelly Latimer, Colin Bennett, Alan Stern, Kellie Gerardi, Ketty Maisonrouge
Galactic 06 26 January 2024, 17:42 UTC[56] Success Mach 2.98 88.8 km (55.2 mi) CJ Sturckow, Nicola Pecile, Lina Borozdina, Robie Vaughn, Franz Haider, Neil Kornswiet
  1. ↑ The flight was initially claimed to be successful but it was later revealed Unity briefly stepped outside the airspace that had been reserved for it and the FAA were not informed as required. The FAA grounded Virgin Galactic's space planes before allowing a resumption of flights after some changes to procedures including reserving a larger volume of airspace.[48]

Full list of test flights

This section is an excerpt from List of Virgin Galactic launches § VSS Unity flights[ edit ]

See also

Notes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Luke Villapaz (5 November 2014). "Virgin Galactic Hopes To Restart SpaceShipTwo Tests In Summer 2015". International Business Times. http://www.ibtimes.com/virgin-galactic-hopes-restart-spaceshiptwo-tests-summer-2015-1719766. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Irene Klotz (5 November 2014). "New spaceship restoring hope after Virgin Galactic crash". Reuters. SpaceDaily. http://newsdaily.com/2014/11/new-spaceship-restoring-hope-after-virgin-galactic-crash/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Update from Mojave: VSS Unity's First Flight Test Completed - Virgin Galactic". virgingalactic.com. 9 September 2016. http://www.virgingalactic.com/update-from-mojave-vss-unitys-first-flight-test-completed/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 @virgingalactic (19 February 2016). "Virgin Galactic announces new ship name". https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/700795235291402240. 
  5. ↑ "New SpaceShipTwo Rollout Friday". AVweb. 18 February 2016. http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/New-SpaceShipTwo-Rollout-Friday-225723-1.html. 
  6. ↑ "Virgin Galactic unveils new space tourism rocket plane". CBC News. 19 February 2016. http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/virgin-galactic-new-spaceship-1.3399865. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Virgin Galactic's new SpaceShipTwo gets off the ground, two years after fatal mishap". GeekWire. 2016-09-08. http://www.geekwire.com/2016/virgin-galactic-new-spaceshiptwo-captive-carry/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Update from Mojave: Testing Testing 1-2-3". Virgin Galactic. 2016-03-10. http://www.virgingalactic.com/update-from-mojave-testing-testing-1-2-3/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Mojave Update: SpaceShipTwo Construction". http://www.virgingalactic.com/mojave-update-spaceshiptwo-construction/. 
  10. ↑ Rosenberg, Zach. "The Making of SpaceShipTwo". Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine. http://www.airspacemag.com/as-interview/making-spaceshiptwo-180952849/?no-ist. 
  11. ↑ Crane, Rachel (13 June 2014). "Inside Virgin Galactic's newest passenger spaceship". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/13/tech/virgin-galactic-space-tourism-update/. 
  12. ↑ "One small step for space tourism...". The Economist. 16 December 2004. http://www.economist.com/node/3500237. 
  13. ↑ Roll, Erin (2013-11-21). "Glen Ridge resident helping to launch commercial spaceflight". NorthJersey.com. http://www.northjersey.com/news/glen-ridge-resident-helping-to-launch-commercial-spaceflight-1.696763. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Dean, Lewis (2014-10-31). "Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Crash: Pilot Dies After 'Serious' In-Flight Problem". International Business Times. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-pilot-dies-after-serious-flight-problem-1472637. 
  15. ↑ Harlow, John (2014-11-09). "Virgin: Our spaceship will be flying by April". The Sunday Times (London). http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/article1481365.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2014_11_08. 
  16. ↑ USA Today (2016-02-19). "New Virgin Galactic spacecraft gets rock star unveiling". Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aNn91OnB-8. 
  17. ↑ "N202VG is Reserved". FAA. 11 September 2014. http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=202VG. 
  18. ↑ "Virgin Galactic 'to test new craft by end of year'". The Telegraph (London). 21 April 2015. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11551234/Virgin-Galactic-to-test-new-craft-by-end-of-year.html. 
  19. ↑ "Virgin Galactic CEO Sees New Spacecraft Ready Next Year". Reuters. Newsweek. 2 November 2014. http://www.newsweek.com/virgin-galactic-ceo-sees-new-spacecraft-ready-next-year-281652. 
  20. ↑ Alan Boyle (5 November 2014). "The Next SpaceShipTwo Takes Shape in Virgin Galactic Hangar". NBC News. http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/virgin-voyage/next-spaceshiptwo-takes-shape-virgin-galactic-hangar-n242316. 
  21. ↑ Alan Boyle (22 May 2015). "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo 2.0 Puts 'Weight on Wheels'". NBC News. http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/virgin-voyage/its-first-virgin-galactics-spaceshiptwo-2-0-puts-weight-wheels-n363246. 
  22. ↑ "Virgin Galactic unveils new spaceship". 19 February 2016. https://www.cnn.com/2016/02/19/us/virgin-galactic-new-space-plane/index.html. 
  23. ↑ Plautz, Jessica; Kramer, Miriam (2015-11-02). "Richard Branson: Virgin Galactic's next space plane is coming in February". Mashable. http://mashable.com/2015/11/02/virgin-galactic-february-spaceshiptwo/. 
  24. ↑ "Video - Virgin Galactic: second SpaceShipTwo to be rolled out on 19 February". aeronewstv.com. 14 January 2016. http://www.aeronewstv.com/en/industry/research-innovation/3077-virgin-galactic-second-spaceshiptwo-to-be-rolled-out-on-19-february.html. 
  25. ↑ Jeff Foust (14 October 2015). "SpaceShipTwo Bounces Back to Rubber Fuel". SpaceNews. http://spacenews.com/virgin-galactic-switching-back-to-rubber-fuel-for-spaceshiptwo/. 
  26. ↑ Tariq Malik (1 November 2016). "Virgin Galactic Postpones 1st Glide Test with New SpaceShipTwo". http://www.space.com/34580-virgin-galactic-attempts-spaceshiptwo-glide-test.html. 
  27. ↑ "Virgin Galactic Looks to Its Next SpaceShipTwo Flight Test". inverse.com. 4 November 2016. https://www.inverse.com/article/23203-virgin-galactic-scrubs-spaceshiptwo-glide-test-again. 
  28. ↑ Messier, Doug (4 November 2016). "Last Minute Scrub of SpaceShipTwo Glide Flight". parabolicarc.com. http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/11/03/minute-scrub-spaceshiptwo-glide-flight/. 
  29. ↑ "Virgin Galactic conducts captive carry flight of SpaceShipTwo". spaceflightinsider.com. 1 December 2016. http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/commercial/virgin-galactic-conducts-captive-carry-flight-spaceshiptwo/. 
  30. ↑ Einhorn, Bruce (5 July 2017). "Branson Aims Mid-2018 Space Trip as Virgin Resumes Powered Tests". Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-05/branson-targets-space-by-mid-2018-as-virgin-begins-powered-tests. 
  31. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (7 September 2017). "Virgin Galactic is returning to powered flights, CEO says, in a crucial next step for the spaceship company". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/07/virgin-galactic-ceo-company-is-returning-to-powered-flights.html. 
  32. ↑ Second SpaceShipTwo performs first powered test flight, SpaceNews, Jeff Foust, 5 April 2018
  33. ↑ Grady, Mary (10 April 2018). "First Supersonic, Powered Flight For Virgin's Unity". AVweb. https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/First-Supersonic-Powered-Flight-For-Virgins-Unity-230613-1.html. 
  34. ↑ Clark, Stephen (5 April 2018). "Virgin Galactic completes first rocket-powered test flight since 2014". https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/05/virgin-galactic-completes-first-rocket-powered-test-flight-since-2014/. 
  35. ↑ "Virgin Galactic gets set for SpaceShipTwo flights that aim for space — but how high?". 12 December 2018. https://www.geekwire.com/2018/virgin-galactic-gets-set-spaceshiptwo-flights-aim-space-high/. 
  36. ↑ Malik, Tariq (13 December 2018). "Virgin Galactic's 4th Powered Test Flight of SpaceShipTwo Unity in Twitter Posts". https://www.space.com/42725-virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-unity-4th-powered-flight-twitter-updates.html. 
  37. ↑ Foust, Jeff (19 April 2019). "Virgin Galactic expects rapid conclusion of SpaceShipTwo test flights after downtime". https://spacenews.com/virgin-galactic-expects-rapid-conclusion-of-spaceshiptwo-test-flights-after-downtime/. 
  38. ↑ "Virgin Galactic Welcomes SpaceShipTwo Unity to Spaceport America, New Mexico" (Press release). 13 February 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  39. ↑ "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Completes Second Flight from Spaceport America" (Press release). 25 June 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  40. ↑ "Virgin Galactic Reveals Spaceshiptwo Cabin Interior". 28 July 2020. https://www.virgingalactic.com/articles/virgin-galactic-reveals-spaceshiptwo-cabin-interior/. 
  41. ↑ Jeff Foust (8 November 2023). "Virgin Galactic to halt Unity suborbital flights by mid-2024". https://spacenews.com/virgin-galactic-to-halt-unity-suborbital-flights-by-mid-2024/. 
  42. ↑ @virgingalactic (13 December 2018). "We travelled at 2.9 Mach on the way up to today. That's 2.9 times the speed of sound.". https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1073252317598609408. 
  43. ↑ @virgingalactic (22 February 2019). "Mach 3.0". https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1098989513655742464. 
  44. ↑ Grush, Loren (22 February 2019). "Virgin Galactic spaceplane reaches space with first passenger on board". https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/22/18232354/virgin-galactic-vss-unity-spaceplane-test-spaceflight-passenger-beth-moses. 
  45. ↑ "Virgin Galactic Update on Test Flight Program.". https://www.virgingalactic.com/articles/virgin-galactic-update-on-test-flight-program/. 
  46. ↑ "VSS Unity aborts after engine start, safely lands with crew back at Spaceport America". 12 December 2020. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/12/new-mexico-joins-human-spaceflight-with-unity-flight/. 
  47. ↑ "Virgin Galactic successfully makes first human spaceflight from New Mexico". 22 May 2021. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/05/virgin-galactic-another-attempt-new-mexico/. 
  48. ↑ "Virgin Galactic cleared to resume space flights". BBC. 30 September 2021. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58748027. 
  49. ↑ "Virgin Galactic is GO for launch". Virgin Galactic (Press release). 17 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  50. ↑ "Virgin Galactic". https://www.virgingalactic.com/news/virgin-galactic-completes-successful-spaceflight. 
  51. ↑ Jonathan McDowell [@planet4589] (10 August 2023). "I don't quite agree with these numbers. I have takeoff of White Knight 2 at 1429:45 UTC (in agreement with their 8.30 am MDT) but landing of SS2 at 1532:48 UTC (9.32 am MDT). Release time 1517:10 UTC and SS2 free flight time 15:38 with apogee 88.5 km.". https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1689783764639961089. 
  52. ↑ Jonathan McDowell [@planet4589] (8 September 2023). "Virgin Galactic few Spaceship Two mission Galactic 03 on Sep 8. VMS Eve took off at 1434 UTC and dropped VSS Unity over the usual drop point (EBR P3 in my list) at about 1522:13 UTC. Unity boosted to 88.6 km apogee and landed at Spaceport America at 1535 UTC.". https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1700249597845913634. 
  53. ↑ "Core memory unlocked. Welcome to space, #Galactic03. Congratulations, 014, 015, and 016!" (in en). https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1700170319343112596?s=20. 
  54. ↑ "Virgin Galactic completes fifth successful flight in five months". Virgin Galactic (Press release). 6 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  55. ↑ "'Galactic 05' research mission set to become Virgin Galactic's sixth flight in six months". Virgin Galactic (Press release). 18 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  56. ↑ Jonathan McDowell [@planet4589] (26 January 2024). "The @VirginGalactic Galactic 06 mission was launched from the WK02 carrier plane at 1742:05 UTC Jan 26 following takeoff around 1700 UTC. After a one minute rocket burn, SS2 reached an apogee of 88.8 km and landed after an approximately 14 minute free flight. (1/2)". https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1750973689204764824. 

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