SpaceShipTwo Update: GALACTIC 07 (and VSS Unity's Final Mission) Is in the Books...

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Completes 12th Successful Spaceflight (News Release - June 8)

Galactic 07 Carries Five Research Payloads During Company’s Seventh Research Mission

After Today’s Final Commercial Flight of VSS Unity, Momentum Builds for Production of Delta-Class Spaceships

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (“Virgin Galactic” or the “Company”) today announced the completion of its second spaceflight of 2024 and 12 mission to date, carrying one researcher and three private astronauts. Today’s Galactic 07 flight marks the Company’s seventh research mission with Virgin Galactic’s spaceship again serving as a suborbital lab for space-based scientific research.

Onboard Galactic 07:

· Astronaut 027 – Tuva Cihangir Atasever, Turkish Space Agency (TUA) astronaut and Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) Backup Mission Specialist

· Astronaut 028 – Anand “Andy” Harish Sadhwani, California, USA

· Astronaut 029 – Irving Izchak Pergament, New York, USA

· Astronaut 030 – Giorgio Manenti, Italy

On today’s flight, Atasever flew with three human-tended experiments, including custom headgear with brain activity monitoring sensors to collect physiological data related to human spaceflight; a dosimeter; and two commercially-available insulin pens to examine the ability to administer accurate insulin doses in microgravity. He also participated in four investigations carried out by Turkish researchers on the ground to understand physiological changes during suborbital spaceflight.

Galactic 07 also flew two autonomous rack-mounted payloads supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program: a Purdue University experiment to study propellant slosh for spacecraft propulsion applications and a University of California, Berkeley experiment to test new 3D printing technology while in microgravity.

The flight was Virgin Galactic’s seventh spaceflight carrying microgravity and space-based research, following last year’s research missions, Galactic 05 with U.S. Planetary Scientist Dr. Alan Stern and U.S. Payload Specialist and Bioastronautics Researcher Kellie Gerardi, and Galactic 01 with the Italian Air Force and National Research Council. VSS Unity was piloted by Commander Nicola Pecile and Pilot Jameel Janjua.

VMS Eve was piloted by Commander Andy Edgell and Pilot C.J. Sturckow.

Galactic 07 In-Flight Facts:

Take-off Time: 8:31 AM, MDT (7:31 AM, PDT)

Altitude at Release: 44,562 feet (13,582 meters)

Apogee: 54.4 miles (87.5 kilometers)

Top Speed: Mach 2.96

Landing Time: 9:41 AM, MDT (8:41 AM, PDT)

Source: Virgin Galactic

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Virgin Galactic


Michael López-Alegría


Virgin Galactic