In a move that is sure to infuriate Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Virgin Galactic announced Thursday that it will be conducting its first full crew test flight into space just days before Amazon were set to do the same.
“Virgin Galactic today announced that the flight window for the next rocket-powered test flight of its SpaceShipTwo Unity opens July 11, pending weather and technical checks,” the company announced in a press release. “The ‘Unity 22’ mission will be the twenty-second flight test for VSS Unity and the Company’s fourth crewed spaceflight. It will also be the first to carry a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists in the cabin, including the Company’s founder, Sir Richard Branson, who will be testing the private astronaut experience.”
Unity 22 will be focusing on “cabin and customer experience objectives,” including:
- Evaluating the commercial customer cabin with a full crew, including the cabin environment, seat comfort, the weightless experience, and the views of Earth that the spaceship delivers — all to ensure every moment of the astronaut’s journey maximizes the wonder and awe created by space travel.
- Demonstrating the conditions for conducting human-tended research experiments.
- Confirming the training program at Spaceport America supports the spaceflight experience.
Virgin Galactic also announced that they would be sharing a global livestream of the spaceflight for the first time.
Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic, said: “Our next flight—the 22nd flight test for VSS Unity and our first fully crewed flight test — is a testament to the dedication and technical brilliance of our entire team, and I’d like to extend a special thank you to our pilots and mission specialists, each of whom will be performing important work. Tapping into Sir Richard’s expertise and long history of creating amazing customer experiences will be invaluable as we work to open the wonder of space travel and create awe-inspiring journeys for our customers.”
Sir Richard Branson said: “I truly believe that space belongs to all of us. After more than 16 years of research, engineering, and testing, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry, which is set to open space to humankind and change the world for good. It’s one thing to have a dream of making space more accessible to all; it’s another for an incredible team to collectively turn that dream into reality. As part of a remarkable crew of mission specialists, I’m honored to help validate the journey our future astronauts will undertake and ensure we deliver the unique customer experience people expect from Virgin.”
As CNBC noted, Virgin Galactic shares surged following the announcement.
“Virgin Galactic stock jumped as much as 25% shortly after the open, before slipping partially, last up 18% from its previous close of $43.19 a share,” CNBC reported.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his brother are due to launch into space with Bezos’ “Blue Origin” space flight company 9 days later, on July 20.