Virgin Galactic has flown science experiments to the edge of space on several occasions: 

• Unity 2 aircraft: Sent two scientists to suborbital space to perform experiments in microgravity 
• Galactic 05: Converted Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship into a suborbital space lab for space-based research 
• Rocket-powered plane: Carried a team of Italian researchers to the edge of space 

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo is carried to its launch altitude by a Scaled Composites White Knight Two, before being released to fly on into the upper atmosphere powered by its rocket engine. It then glides back to Earth and performs a conventional runway landing. 

Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 05 mission opened its flight window on November 2, 2023. The mission included Virgin Galactic astronaut Kellie Gerardi, who rode aboard the company’s VSS Unity space plane. Gerardi plans to fly three payloads, two of which will evaluate novel healthcare technologies.

Virgin Galactic’s space plane, VSS Unity, is a reusable, rocket-powered aircraft that can reach an altitude of nearly 52.9 miles (85.1 km). It’s designed to fly sub-orbitally, meaning it can reach an altitude high enough to be considered outer space, but it doesn’t travel fast enough to achieve orbit around the planet. 

Virgin Galactic’s space plane works as follows: 

1. A “mothership” aircraft with two pilots takes off from a runway. 
2. The mothership gains high altitude and then deploys the rocket-powered VSS Unity. 
3. The space plane soars into space at nearly Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound). 
4. The space plane reaches an altitude of just over 80km (50 miles). 
5. During re-entry, the passengers will pull about 6 Gs. 
6. The SS2 will feather until it falls to an altitude of 70,000 feet. 
7. The pilots reconfigure the wings from feather mode to glider mode. 
8. The SS2 will glide to a landing back at the spaceport. 

The total flight time is two and a half hours.

On November 2, 2023, Virgin Galactic flew Unity 2 on the Galactic 05 mission. The mission was the company’s sixth successful flight in six months and the last for 2023. 

The Galactic 05 mission: 

• Launched from Spaceport America, New Mexico, at 09:00 local time 
• Carried three passengers 
• Two of the passengers were scientists who conducted human-tended research during the flight 
• The passengers experienced several minutes of weightlessness while engaging in research experiments 
• Converted Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship into a suborbital space lab for space-based research 

The passengers on the Galactic 05 mission were: 

• Alan Stern: Virgin Galactic Astronaut 020 and principal investigator of NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto and the outer solar system 
• Kellie Gerardi: Published author with about a million followers on her different platforms 
• A private tourist 
• An astronaut trainer 

The pilots for the Galactic 05 mission were: Mike Masucci, Kelly Latimer, Jameel Janjua, Andy Edgell

On November 2, Virgin Galactic flew Unity 2 on the Galactic 05 mission. It carried two scientists, a private tourist, and an astronaut trainer on a sub-orbital trip flown by Pilots Mike Masucci and Kelly Latimer. It was the company’s sixth successful flight in six months and the last for 2023

The Galactic 05 mission was expected to last around 1.5 hours from liftoff to landing. The mission was Virgin Galactic’s second commercial human-tended research mission. The insights from this flight will be used to improve the research capabilities of their future Delta fleet.

VSS Unity is a reusable rocket plane that launches from the air and flies to space. It’s designed to carry up to six passengers and two pilots. 

Here’s how VSS Unity works: 

1. VSS Unity flies underneath its carrier vehicle, VMS Eve. 
2. When the two are aiming for space, Eve drops Unity. 
3. Unity’s rocket motor ignites and it soars up to space. 
4. Unity passes an altitude of about 50 miles before falling back to Earth. 

VSS Unity’s hybrid rocket engine uses liquid nitrous oxide and solid rubber. It’s designed to fly to an altitude of around 50,000 feet. 

Virgin Galactic’s spaceflights don’t go into orbit. The space vehicle launches from the ground and travels up to just between 70km to 90km above the Earth. 

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