Industry Virgin Galactic VSS Unity completes first powered flight

After two years of ground and atmospheric testing, SpaceShipTwo took off from Mojave, California, at 8:02am. Three years ago, VSS Unity´s predecessor VSS Enterprise crashed during a test flight. For the new attempt important data and lessons were gathered.

Pilots flying were Mark Stucky and Dave Mackay. VSS Unity was installed to the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft VMS Eve, which was piloted by Mike Masucci and Nicola Pecile. The vehicles climbed to a launch altitude of 46,500ft over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Shortly after, VSS Unity released from VMS Eve and started its engine. Then, the vehicle accelerated to Mach 1.87 during 30 seconds of rocket burn.

After rocket shutdown, VSS Unity continued and upwards coast to 84,271ft. At this stage, the pilots bought the aircraft into a feathered configuration to enable smoother gliding. At round 50,000ft, the tail-booms were lowered again and VSS Unity returned towards Mojave for a smooth runway landing.

The flight was a success for The Spaceship Company, since VSS Unity is the first vehicle to be built from scratch for Virgin Galactic by the company.

Valuable data was gained on flight, motor and vehicle performance which can be used for upcoming tests.