Virgin Galactic Unity 22
Sub-orbital flight carrying Richard Branson and five others.
Virgin Galactic Unity 22, a sub-orbital flight of the SpaceShipTwo-class VSS Unity, took place on 11 July 2021. Its crew consisted of pilots David Mackay and Michael Masucci, plus passengers Sirisha Bandla, Colin Bennett, Beth Moses, and Richard Branson. The spacecraft reached a peak altitude of 282,773 feet (about 86.189 km), which is below the FAI’s 100 km Kármán line but above the U.S. space boundary of 50 miles. This flight was the first to carry more than three people suborbitally and the first with more than one passenger on a suborbital trip. Using the U.S. definition of space, Branson became the first founder of a spaceflight company to fly on his own company’s vehicle.
The flight followed a rivalry between Branson and Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos, who had announced on 7 June 2021 his plan to fly on his company’s first crewed suborbital flight. Depending on whether the Kármán line or the 50-mile boundary is used, different “firsts” were at stake: SpaceShipOne had already crossed 100 km with only a pilot, while Virgin Galactic had previously crossed 50 miles with one passenger. Rumors soon spread that Branson was filing paperwork to beat Bezos to these achievements. Despite the competition, Bezos offered well wishes before the flight, and SpaceX’s Elon Musk met with Branson shortly before launch.
On 11 July 2021 at 8:40 AM MDT, the mother ship VMS Eve took off carrying VSS Unity for a drop launch. During ascent, a red warning light indicated a deviation from the planned entry glide cone, but the flight proceeded and landed successfully. Two minutes and 38 seconds after release from Eve, Unity reached apogee. The crew experienced about four minutes of weightlessness, and Unity glided to a landing 14 minutes and 17 seconds after release. Due to the glide cone deviation and a departure from the planned route, the FAA later investigated the flight. Virgin Galactic disputed the safety impact and said it was cooperating. On 2 September 2021, the FAA grounded SpaceShipTwo until the investigation was complete. Former Virgin Galactic test pilot Mark P. Stucky publicly criticized the company’s response, stating the pilots failed to trim for proper pitch rate, winds were within limits, nothing substantial was done to address the trajectory error, and the vehicle entered Class A airspace without authorization.
Quick Facts
- Mission Type
- Crewed suborbital spaceflight
- Operator
- Virgin Galactic
- Insignia Caption
- Unity 22 patch
- Insignia Alt
- Spaceport America Unity 22 flight patch
- Mission Duration
- 15 minutes and 17 seconds
- Suborbital Apogee
- 86.182 km
- Spacecraft
- VSS Unity
- Spacecraft Type
- SpaceShipTwo
- Manufacturer
- The Spaceship Company
- Crew Members
- David Mackay · Michael Masucci · Sirisha Bandla · Colin Bennett · Beth Moses · Richard Branson
- Launch Date
- 11 July 2021, 15:04 UTC
- Launch Site
- Spaceport America Runway 34
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The flight was preceded by a public rivalry between Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, who had announced on 7 June 2021 his intention to fly on Blue Origin's first crewed flight. Branson's flight aimed to claim certain firsts: the first time more than three people flew suborbitally, the first time more than one passenger flew on a suborbital spaceflight, and Branson as the first founder of a spaceflight company to fly to space on his own company's craft (using the U.S. definition of space as above 50 miles). Despite the rivalry, Bezos offered well wishes shortly before the flight, and SpaceX founder Elon Musk met with Branson before the launch.
Reader's Guide
Unity 22's significance lies in its role in the emerging private spaceflight industry, particularly the 'billionaire space race' between Branson and Bezos. The flight achieved several firsts under the U.S. definition of space, but it also sparked debate because it did not cross the internationally recognized Kármán line (100 km). The flight experienced a deviation from its entry glide cone, leading to an FAA investigation and temporary grounding of SpaceShipTwo. Former Virgin Galactic test pilot Mark P. Stucky publicly criticized the company's response, stating the pilots failed to trim properly and entered Class A airspace without authorization. The FAA later cleared flights to resume after expanding restricted airspace. This event highlighted ongoing disputes over space boundaries and safety standards in commercial spaceflight.
Did You Know?
- The flight reached an apogee of 282,773 feet (86.189 km), below the Kármán line but above the U.S. space boundary of 50 miles.
- A red warning light indicated a deviation from the ship's entry glide cone during ascent, but the flight proceeded and landed successfully.
- The FAA grounded SpaceShipTwo by order on September 2, 2021, until the investigation into the flight deviation was complete.
- Former Virgin Galactic test pilot Mark P. Stucky publicly criticized the company's response, saying the pilots failed to trim to achieve the proper pitch rate.
More in Suborbital human spaceflights 1-24
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