On July 11 at 15:25 UTC, Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity launched on a suborbital trajectory from New Mexico’s Spaceport America. Onboard were six people: two pilots and four “mission specialists”, including company founder Sir Richard Branson. After a forty-minute flight to the drop zone, Unity was released from the mothership VMS Eve.

Unity completed one minute of powered flight and then coasted to an apogee of 85 kilometers. Along the way, it flipped over so that the windows were facing the ground, to give a better view of the Earth for the passengers. The passengers were then allowed to unbuckle and float around the cabin for a brief period. Fifteen minutes after it was released by the mothership, Unity successfully landed on the runway at Spaceport America. In a short ceremony after the flight, the passengers who hadn’t previously been in space received Virgin Galactic astronaut wings.

More Information

Virgin Galactic press release