By 
November 3rd, 2023
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic has successfully completed “Galactic 05” – a suborbital flight on November 2 that saw the VSS Unity space plane converted into a suborbital lab for space-based scientific research for the second time.
Astronaut 020 – Dr. Alan Stern, U.S. Planetary Scientist and Associate Vice President in Southwest Research Institute’s (SwRI) Space Sector
Astronaut 021 – Kellie Gerardi, U.S. Payload Specialist and Bioastronautics Researcher for the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS)
Astronaut 022 – Ketty Pucci-Sisti Maisonrouge, Private Astronaut
“The team will now proceed with post-flight analysis, along with planned vehicle inspections, before re-commencing standard pre-flight readiness procedures ahead of our next commercial space mission, “Galactic 06″, scheduled for January next year,” Virgin Galactic stated in a post-flight update.
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
Flight facts
VSS Unity was piloted by Commander Mike Masucci and Pilot Kelly Latimer, with Astronaut Instructor Colin Bennett on board.
Mothership VMS Eve was piloted by Commander Jameel Janjua and Pilot Andy Edgell.
‘Galactic 05’ in-flight facts:
Take-off Time: 11:00 am Eastern Time
Altitude at Release: 44,701 ft
Apogee 54.2 miles: (87.2 kilometers)
Top Speed: Mach 2.96
Landing Time: 11:59 am Eastern Time
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
Experiments
As for experiments flown, Stern flew with two human-tended investigations, including a biomedical harness to collect physiological data related to human spaceflight. He also conducted practice routines and procedures in preparation for a future NASA-funded suborbital research flight.
Gerardi flew with three payloads, two of which evaluated novel healthcare technologies in microgravity conditions through the collection of biometric data. The third payload examined how confined fluid behaves to inform future healthcare technologies in space.
Galactic 05 was Virgin Galactic’s sixth spaceflight carrying microgravity and space-based research and its second in 2023, following ‘Galactic 01,’ a research mission with the Italian Air Force and National Research Council.
Posted in Space News
