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VSS Unity VP-03

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ronrosano (talk | contribs) at 05:06, 28 December 2018 (Changing "Aftermath" (refers to unpleasant event) to "Reception", a more accurate term). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

VSS Unity-PF04
VSS Unity
Mission typeCrewed suborbital test flight
OperatorVirgin Galactic
Crew
Crew size2
Members
Start of mission
Launch date13 December 2018
End of mission
Landing date13 December 2018

VSS Unity PF04 was a sub-orbital spaceflight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS Unity which took place on 13 December 2018, piloted by Mark Stucky and co-piloted by Frederick W. "CJ" Sturckow. Reaching an apogee of 82.7 km (51.4 mi), the flight satisfied the United States definition of spaceflight (50 mi (80.47 km)), but fell short of the Kármán line (100 km (62.14 mi)), the internationally accepted standard.[1] The flight was operated by Virgin Galactic, a private company led by Richard Branson which intends to conduct space tourism flights in the future. VSS Unity PF04 was a success for the organization, following the 2014 VSS Enterprise crash. It was the first spaceflight from U.S. soil since the Space Shuttle mission STS-135 in 2011.

Crew

Position Astronaut
Pilot Mark Stucky
First (per U.S. convention) spaceflight
Co-Pilot Frederick "CJ" Sturckow
Fifth (per U.S. convention) spaceflight

Background

During the 20th century, human spaceflight was conducted exclusively by countries and government agencies, such as NASA. This began to change during the early 21st century, as several private spaceflight companies either continued development, or were established. From 2000-2004, Blue Origin, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic were founded. In 2004, SpaceShipOne became the first private craft to carry humans into space. On three separate one-man sub-orbital flights, pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie reached a maximum altitude above 100 kilometers, thereby crossing the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of outer space. SpaceShipOne was carried into flight in a parasite configuration by White Knight, its mother ship, from which point it flew into space. SpaceShipOne was designed by Burt Rutan and manufactured by Scaled Composites, a company he had founded in 1982. In 2005, Rutan and Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson co-founded The Spaceship Company, a separate manufacturing organization meant to supply Virgin Galactic with a fleet of spacecraft. The results were SpaceShipTwo and mother ship White Knight Two, also designed by Rutan. The first instances of each craft were dubbed the VSS Enterprise and the VMS Eve, respectively. The parasite aspect of both SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo's flight profiles are shared in common with the North American X-15, an earlier spaceplane which also performed high-altitude and sub-orbital flights.

In May 2013, retired NASA astronaut and four-time Space Shuttle veteran Frederick "CJ" Sturckow joined Virgin Galactic as a test pilot.[2] Sturckow had previously flown on STS-88, STS-105, STS-117 and STS-128 before entering spaceflight's private sector.

On 31 October 2014, the Enterprise was destroyed in a catastrophic breakup, killing its co-pilot Michael Alsbury and seriously injuring its lead pilot Peter Siebold. Following the disaster, the second SpaceShipTwo craft, VSS Unity, was completed in 2016, and began testing.

In January 2015, Scaled Composites test pilot Mark "Forger" Stucky was hired by Virgin Galactic as a test pilot.[3] Stucky had been closely involved with the development of SpaceShipTwo during his tenure with Scaled. He also served for one year (2014-2015) as the president of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.[4]

Flight

On 13 December 2018, at an altitude of 43,000 feet, the VMS Eve released the VSS Unity for its fourth powered test flight.[5] Lead pilot Stucky and co-pilot Sturckow flew Unity at a maximum speed of Mach 2.9 to a maximum altitude of 82.7 kilometers, thereby surpassing the 50-mile limit used in the United States to denote the limit of space, but falling short of the Kármán line. Both craft landed safely afterwards. The flight was publicized in various tweets published online by Virgin Galactic, Branson himself, and related personnel.

Reception

The Federal Aviation Administration congratulated Virgin Galactic and the pilots on their successful flight, and invited the team to Washington, D.C. for a ceremony to award the pilots astronaut wings.[6]

Following the flight, the entire Virgin Galactic program was criticized by Australian astronaut Andy Thomas, who said "It’s really just a high-altitude aeroplane flight and a dangerous one at that ... As a technology to get humans out into space it's a go nowhere, dead-end technology.".[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Grush, Loren (13 December 2018). "Virgin Galactic's spaceplane finally makes it to space for the first time". The Verge.
  2. ^ Bergin, Chris (7 May 2013). "From Shuttle to SS2 – Sturckow joins Virgin Galactic". Nasa Space Flight.
  3. ^ Messier, Doug (23 January 2015). "Virgin Galactic Hires New Pilot". Parabolic Arc.
  4. ^ "Past Presidents of SETP". Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
  5. ^ Stewart, Jack (13 December 2018). "As Virgin Galactic Reaches Space, Pilots Become Astronauts". Wired.
  6. ^ "Press Release - Statement of FAA Assistant Administrator Bailey Edwards on the Successful Virgin Galactic Flight". Federal Aviation Administration. 13 December 2018.
  7. ^ Australian Associated Press (17 December 2018). "Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space flights criticised as 'dangerous, dead-end tech'".
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