Virgin Galactic Thursday launched a spaceplane 50 miles above Earth that features windows around the cabin and four seats for tourists.
The VSS Unity is 60 feet long and has a wingspan of 27 feet. The interior of the cabin is minimalist and is described as an “elegant yet progressive, experience-oriented concept”.
At the front is a cockpit for two Virgin Galactic pilots tasked with taking the ship to the edge of space, and at the back four paying customers are strapped into individual, light gray seats made from the highest quality aluminum and carbon fiber.
Each seat has two personal windows and several others line the interior, which has only storage space for scientific experiments to be conducted during the 90-minute flight.
When the spaceplane reached the edge of space, it hovered in place for a few minutes to allow passengers to feel weightless.
Each seat in the six-person cabin has two personal windows for a view of the Earth below and “mood lighting” associated with each phase of the spaceflight
The three new astronauts include a mother-daughter duo and a former Olympian: Keisha Schahaff, 46, and her daughter Anastatia Mayers, 18, and Jon Goodwin, 80.
Dubbed “Galactic 02,” Thursday’s mission launched Virgin Galactic into the space tourism business.
Founded by Richard Branson, the company will begin offering customers monthly trips on its winged spaceplane, joining Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the space tourism business.
The spaceplane was attached to the underbelly of the twin fuselage carrier, which flew to an altitude of 44,500 feet and released the spaceplane.
The VSS Unity spaceplane then started its engine and rose at least 50 miles above Earth’s surface – the altitude considered the edge of space.
As it peaked, it deployed a special feathered tail section to achieve proper nose-down attitude before re-entry.
The cabin was designed to “fit seamlessly with all other aspects of the astronaut’s journey” while representing the design heart of Virgin Galactic.
The goal was to provide safety without distractions and “to provide each astronaut with the level of intimacy necessary for their personal discovery and transformation.”
Each seat was also designed using technical foam and fabrics developed by Under Armor – the sportswear company used the same 3D knit in the flight suits.
They are also designed to match flight, including a pilot-controlled tilt mechanism that optimizes the astronaut to manage G-forces during boost and re-entry.
The cabin comes in a dark gray while the seats are a lighter gray with blue accents along the seat belts.
The SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity is attached to the underside of the twin-hull VMS Eve launcher, which reached an altitude of 44,500 feet and released the spaceplane
The cabin design is fairly minimalist—seats, windows, and a large rear-view mirror make up most of the layout—allowing the astronauts to focus on the experience. It can be customized to accommodate experimental payloads or passengers
“This cabin was specifically designed to enable thousands of people like you and me to safely realize the dream of space travel – and that’s incredibly exciting,” Branson said during the cabin’s official unveiling in 2020.
The transition from Earth’s atmosphere to the edge of space will be “abrupt,” according to the team behind the cabin design.
“You will go from the noise of the rocket engines to the absolute silence of space,” they said.
The cabin features minimal outside noise to allow astronauts to experience the tranquility of the blackness of space and the bright earth below.
Light is also a key feature of the design, with multicolored LED lamps concealed in the ‘halo’ windows alongside and above the astronaut seats.
The lights “are used to subtly reflect and thus enhance human responses to each of the contrasting phases of flight,” a spokesman said.
Once the carrier reached an altitude of 44,500 feet, he released the spaceplane. VSS Unity will then start its engine and soar approximately 262,000 feet above Earth — the height believed to be the edge of space. Pictured is the mission Richard Branson took with him in 2021
Once Earth comes into view against the black sky of space, all lights in the cabin are turned off to allow people to focus on their home planet below.
Each seat includes audio and video recordings of the crew in front, with flight details and personal communications.
Virgin said that the cabin of the VSS Unity was deliberately sized to give the astronauts an out-of-seat zero-gravity experience.
The interior design focuses on this crucial part of the experience with soft cabin surfaces and elements that are easy to find and hold on to in zero gravity.
There are 16 cabin cameras, more in the cockpit, and even some outside the spacecraft that will capture high-resolution footage of the spaceflight.
The astronauts will share these via social media posts and turn them into a personal film for each traveler.
There are 16 cabin cameras, more in the cockpit, and even some outside the spacecraft that will capture high-resolution footage of the spaceflight. Branson and five Virgin Galactic employees made the trip in 2021 (pictured)
A test flight in May (pictured) took four Virgin Galactic employees to the edge of space
To further enhance the experience of floating in zero gravity, the cabin features a first in space travel – a large, circular mirror on the rear bulkhead.
This is intended to allow the astronauts to view themselves while being weightless and illuminated by Earth’s natural brightness.
Michael Colglazier, recently appointed CEO of Virgin Galactic, said this is an important milestone in the company’s journey into space.
“In many ways, the interior of the spacecraft cabin is the design heart of the astronaut’s journey, and what has been created will both facilitate and highlight a uniquely profound and transformative journey for the thousands who will fly,” he said.
The company stopped taking bookings in 2018 and has a backlog of 600 people waiting to board the suborbital flight, each of which requires six people.
As the fleet expands, the number of people leaving the planet, even if only for a short time, is expected to increase rapidly. Therefore, Virgin Galactic has started a “Small Step” program.
Branson became the first billionaire in space when he embarked on the maiden voyage of the VSS Unity on July 11, 2021 – beating Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos, who made a similar voyage nine days later.
The Virgin Galactic founder was one of six Virgin Galactic employees aboard the VSS Unity en route to 280,000 feet.
However, based on an investigation shortly after the flight, the spaceplane was grounded when it went off course while returning to the runway in the New Mexico desert.
Unlike other companies that use vertical take-off rockets, Virgin Galactic uses a two-pilot carrier aircraft that takes off from a runway, gains high altitude, and deploys a rocket-powered aircraft that flies into space before gliding back to Earth.
In September 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was investigating an anomaly in the flight’s descent.
The FAA, which oversees commercial aerospace in the US, found the spaceplane had “deviated from its air traffic control clearance” and did so for about a minute and 41 seconds.
Branson and his team have since resolved the issue, and recently in May they sent a four-person test crew 57.2 miles above the surface of the Earth, paving the way for Thursday’s first commercial mission, Galactic 01.