After being forced to pause most of its operations at its Spaceport America site in mid-November due to concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, Virgin Galactic is planning on resuming operations under strict guidelines to keep their workers safe.
Virgin announced that it will be opening its first window to launch its VSS Unity sub-orbital spaceplane from its facilities at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Payload and goals
The flight’s objectives will be to test several elements of the customer cabin and upgraded horizontal stabilizers and flight controls during powered flight.
“With safety as our core priority, we remain committed to completing our first powered flight in New Mexico. In accordance with local government guidelines and safety protocols, we have minimized the number of people onsite to the greatest degree possible. While on this occasion no media or guests will be allowed onsite, our team will endeavour to capture and share the beautiful images with the world after the flight has been completed. We look forward to completing this important milestone in our test flight program in the coming weeks.”
Michael Colglazier, CEO, Virgin Galactic
The flight window is planned to open on December 11th. The mission requires that Virgin’s spaceplane and the team are ready for the event and weather is good for a flight. Also flying on this flight will be payloads from NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program which Virgin was selected for as announced this week.
More
- Virgin Galactic packs Q2 with CEO swap, cabin design reveal, Mach 3 high-speed aircraft deal
- Virgin Galactic releases Q3 2020 financial results, discusses upcoming launch
- Virgin Galactic taking $1,000 deposits for spaceflight sales after nearly 8,000 registrations of interest
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