Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic and Purdue University announced today a groundbreaking partnership to send an all-Boilermaker crew on a suborbital research flight, the first of its kind for a U.S. university.

The mission, Purdue 1, is slated for launch in 2027 and will include Purdue engineering professor Steven Collicott and distinguished graduate student(s) and alumni who will conduct live, human-tended experiments in microgravity.

Purdue engineering professor Steven Collicott.
Image credit: Purdue University

Collicott started flying experiments on Blue Origin’s sub-orbital New Shepard rocket and was selected by NASA as the first professor to fly with an experiment to space and back in the sub-orbital Virgin Galactic spaceship.

Designed to seat up to six passengers, Virgin Galactic’s next generation spaceship is customizable and will have one seat removed for this mission to fly the five crew members and allow space for a payload rack to hold the research experiments.

Announced today, flying with Collicott will be current Purdue graduate student Abigail Mizzi; and alumnus Jason Williamson.

Direct access

Mike Moses, Virgin Galactic’s President of Spaceline, is also a Purdue graduate.

“This mission with Purdue University is a powerful demonstration of what becomes possible when research institutions and educators gain direct access to the microgravity environment,” Moses said in a press statement.

“By enabling researchers to accompany and interact with their experiments in real time, we are not just advancing science – we are empowering the next generation of innovators and expanding the frontiers of educational opportunity,” Moses said. “Purdue 1 is a milestone for our Spaceline and for the broader research and education community, showing how suborbital spaceflight can transform both scientific inquiry and hands-on STEM education.”

Steven Collicott, a professor of aerospace engineering, demonstrates an automated experiment that flew on a previous suborbital flight. Collicott will conduct real-time experiments as part of an all-Purdue crew on a Virgin Galactic flight in 2027.
Image credit: Purdue University photo/John Underwood

Announcement and panel discussion with Purdue and Virgin Galactic representatives is available at: