Commercial space travel company VIrgin Galactic announced Thursday it will attempt a test flight into space Saturday.
On a May 10 conference call with investors, the company said the next test flight remained under evaluation as it assessed a “wear and tear” issue with VMS Eve, the aircraft from which the spacecraft VSS Unity launches in mid-air.
The company had promised an update on its flight plans this week.
It appeared uncertain that the final test phase would initiate in May, but in a statement Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said the mothership was cleared for the mission following “a detailed inspection and thorough analysis” of the craft’s structure, including a “maintenance item” involving the plane’s tail.
If weather conditions and technical checks permit, two pilots will fly the Unity into space with research payloads on board. The payload service is on behalf of the NASA space agency, with which the company has a contract.
The mission will also address a fix to the problem that scuttled a December test flight, when the ignition of a rocket engine was halted by an onboard computer, in addition to testing upgraded stabilizers and controls, live stream technology and elements of the passenger cabin, the company said.
The December test flight aborted safely, with pilots conducting a glide flight to the ground.
If successful, it will be the first of four flights planned by Virgin for the final test phase before opening commercial flight service from its base of operations at Spaceport America in New Mexico’s Sierra County.
Subsequent flights are planned to carry a crew of specialists in its passenger cabin followed by a flight that will include founder Richard Branson, at which point the company will resume ticket sales. The company reports it has 600 tickets reserved. The fourth test flight is planned as a “full revenue” flight with research payloads and members of the Italian Air Force training as astronauts.
The company was contending to be the first to fly passengers on suborbital flights; however, Blue Origin, a venture founded by Jeff Bezos, is planning its first tourism flight for July 20, which would defeat Virgin’s bid for “first mover” status in the new industry.
After a long series of delays related to technical issues as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, the company currently projects the start of its commercial service for regular passengers in 2022.
In March, Virgin Galactic unveiled its newest spacecraft, the VSS Imagine, which is not expected to begin test flights at Spaceport America before summer. The spacecraft manufacturing facility is in Mojave, California.
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