Virgin Galactic’s carrier aircraft releases its spacecraft Unity during a glide flight test.
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic confirmed its latest spaceflight test was cut short after its SpaceShipTwo vehicle “Unity” attempted to launch above New Mexico on Saturday.
While no passengers were on board, Unity was piloted by CJ Sturckow and Dave Mackay for the flight. Virgin Galactic was aiming to reach the edge of space for the third time, in its inaugural spaceflight from its operating base in New Mexico.
“SpaceShipTwo Unity is headed for home. We will share more information once we have it,” the company said in a tweet.
Virgin Galactic confirmed the spacecraft successfully returned in a glide to land back at Spaceport America in New Mexico, where it took off from under its carrier jet aircraft about an hour earlier. The company confirmed both pilots are “safe and sound.”
“Wheel stop, SpaceShipTwo Unity,” Virgin Galactic said in a tweet.
An unofficial webcast hosted by space enthusiast forum NASASpaceflight appeared to show the spacecraft’s engine aborted after firing momentarily. SpaceShipTwo was released from under its carrier aircraft at about 40,000 feet altitude, with Unity’s motor appearing the ignite briefly before shutting down. Typically the spacecraft is released by the jet and then fires its rocket motor for more than a minute, hitting speeds of about three times the speed of sound.
Virgin Galactic’s spaceflight attempt was the company’s first in nearly 22 months, with its previous spaceflight in February 2019 when Unity reached an altitude of nearly 90 kilometers on a test launch from the Mojave Desert in California. The company is working toward beginning commercial service flights from Spaceport America, where it moved its operations from its development and manufacturing facilities at Mojave’s Air and Space Port.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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