Virgin Galactic Holdings conducted a test flight in space for the first time in more than two years, a significant step on the path to business service after a series of problems that plagued the company.
The VSS Unity Test Flight from New Mexico on Saturday allows the established schedule to return to the suburbs this summer from airline founder Richard Branson and resume ticket sales.
Michael Colglassier, France’s CEO, observed the plane from the Virgin Galactic Operations Center in Spaceport, USA, near Truth or Conservancy in New Mexico.
“This is a very, very clean and elegant aircraft,” Colglacier said in a phone interview Saturday, adding that the test fulfilled every goal, including the first flight with a new, more precise flight control system to improve performance. Spacecraft.
The unexpected part of the event, he said, was when he was thrown by champagne after a thrilling Branson flight. “This is unusual and unexpected,” Colglacier said.
C.J. Powered by Sturkov and Dave McKay, the VSS Unity aircraft was the first to fly into space from New Mexico, becoming the third U.S. state to fly in public space after Florida and California. In 1982 the spacecraft landed in the range of the White Sands Missile in New Mexico.
VSS Unity, Motherhood, VMS Eve, the Mac has been traveling at three speeds since its release, and Spaceport reached 55.45 miles (89.2 kilometers) before landing in the United States, according to a report.
The aircraft was the company’s first rocket since February 2019, when Virgin engineer and space instructor Beth Moses joined a test flight from Mojave, California. The trip paves the way for Virgin’s next test flight, which is expected to carry additional staff as the company prepares for its business service.
The company is not ready to say when it will be ready for the next test flight with four employees. “You can imagine a lot of people asking me‘ I want to be, ’” Colglacier said.
According to “Test Cats”, a book published this month by New York author Nicholas Schmidt gave access to observations of the company for many years, as damage to the spacecraft’s surface from air pressure built after it was accidentally inserted by aeronautical engineers in 2019.
Amid delays caused by the epidemic, while many staff were working from home, the Virgin Galactic test project suffered another setback when the VSS unit crashed from its transport plane in December, but the rocket engine failed to burn. The craft went back to Spaceport America and landed without incident.
A second flight attempt in February was thwarted by an electrical interruption found in the spacecraft’s avionics system. The company spent about two months fixing the interruption issues, due to the engineers installing the most powerful aircraft system last year.
Earlier this month, the Virgin Galactic warned investors it would reconsider its “fatigue and stress” issues on its four-engine transport aircraft VMS Eve. The company said Thursday that the plane was allowed to fly after “detailed inspection and thorough analysis”.
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