After a thorough analysis of the data obtained during the test flight on May 22, the company will be able to continue preparing for the remaining three test flights
TASS, June 25. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has updated the license of Virgin Galactic, which allows sending passengers into space. Information about this appeared on the Virgin Galactic website on Friday.
As follows from the message on the website, the renewal of the Virgin Galactic operator's license, which was issued to the company in 2016, means that the FAA has approved it for carrying out customer flights. "Today's confirmation by the FAA of our license for a full commercial launch, combined with a successful test flight on May 22, gives us confidence as we embark on our first test flight with a full crew this summer," commented Michael Colglazier, executive director of Virgin Galactic, on the decision of the aviation administration.
The text also refers to the completion of a thorough analysis of the data obtained during the test flight on May 22, which was successful with the fulfillment of all the set goals. After studying this information, Virgin Galactic can continue preparing for the remaining three test flights.
Previous tests
Earlier, on May 22, 2021, the carrier aircraft, to the bottom of which the spacecraft was attached, took off from the America cosmodrome. After he climbed to a predetermined height of 16 km, the Unity spacecraft with two pilots on board disconnected from him.
The spacecraft, using its own engines, rose to an altitude of more than 89 km-above the boundary of space (80.45 km), which is adhered to in the US Air Force. Thus, "with today's flight, New Mexico became the third American state from whose territory manned space flights were carried out," Virgin Galactic stressed. At the end of the tests, Unity smoothly descended and landed on the runway of the cosmodrome.
In December 2020, similar tests failed. The spacecraft, designed for suborbital flights, separated from the carrier and started its engine, but shut it down a second later. Then he made a gliding flight down and landed safely.
According to the developers, Unity starts at an altitude of 16 km, separating from the carrier, and spends more than two hours in flight. It is able to take on board up to six passengers, who are given the opportunity to see the Earth from a height of 100 km and experience a state of weightlessness for several minutes. SpaceShipTwo series spaceships were developed to perform regular tourist suborbital flights.
