The space race today is no longer between the United States and the Soviet Union, but between private companies trying to conquer the business of space tourism. Among them we highlight Virgin Galactic, the division of Virgin intended for these purposes. The VSS Unity is its most modern spacecraft model, which, after passing its test flights, will begin hosting space tourists with enough money for a ticket.
The VSS Unity, introduced in 2016, is the successor to the SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise, which crashed in the Mojave Desert in 2014, killing pilot Michael Alsbury. The English billionaire Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group , is the visible face of this project, but today we are going to tell you more details about this striking ship and its operation.
Origins and test flights
Originally known as SpaceShipTwo Series 2 or VSS Voyager, its current name was chosen by the late British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who in February 2016 christened it Virgin Spaceship (VSS) Unity and its eye is used as a model for the Unity side logo. .
The VSS Unity is Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo-type suborbital spaceplane, the first built by The Spaceship Company , the company’s manufacturing arm from Branson. The previous model was made by Scaled Composites, a company financed by Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft.
Between 2018 and 2021, the VSS Unity successfully carried out several test flights, the most mediatic being the 22nd , the first with a complete crew of 6 people (David Mackay, Michael Masucci, Sirisha Bandla, Colin Bennett, Beth Moses and Richard Branson). ), in addition to the 2 pilots of the VMS Eve (Kelly Latimer and CJ Sturckow).
Features of Virgin Unity
First of all, VSS Unity needs VMS Eve (Virgin MotherShip Eve), a Virgin Galactic carrier mothership built by Scaled Composites that acts as a launch pad for Virgin SpaceShipTwo-type spacecraft.
Richard Branson in zero gravity.
As for the ship itself, the VSS Unity has a cabin that is 3.7 meters long and 2.3 meters in diameter. The wingspan is 8.3 meters, while the length is 18.3 meters and the height of the tail is 4.6 meters. Its gross weight is 9,740 kilos .
The interior is made up of aluminum and carbon fiber seats, in addition to a 3D fabric that maps breathability, designed by the Under Armor company and reclines during landing, to reduce the effect of G-forces. It incorporates 43-inch windows and 33 centimeters in diameter so that tourists have the opportunity to appreciate the space.
Space or subspace flight?
Equipped with a hybrid engine , the VSS Unity is launched from the mother ship at an altitude of 15,000 meters. They are capable of reaching supersonic speed in 6 seconds (4,200 km/h). After 70 seconds, its hybrid engine shuts down and the space plane glides to its maximum altitude, over 100,000 meters (its flight ceiling is 110,000 meters), skirting what is known as the Kármán Line, the boundary between the atmosphere and outer space, for the purposes of aviation and astronautics.
VSS Unity Flight Phases
Unlike orbital spacecraft, which return to Earth at speeds approaching 25,000 km/h, thus requiring heat shields, the VSS Unity uses a low-speed feathered reentry system. Also, it is designed to re-enter any angle.