This Week In Launches: Virgin Galactic to make first commercial flight

This is a significant week for Virgin Galactic as it completes its first commercial flight for its VSS Unity spaceplane. However, that is not the only launch taking place this week. As expected, SpaceX will also make an appearance.

This Week’s Launches

• June 27
  • Roscosmos Soyuz 2.1b Meteor-M n°2-3, 7:34 A.M. ET
    • Site 1S, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia
• June 29
  • Virgin Galactic VSS Unity Galactic-1, 11:00 A.M. ET
    • Spaceport America, New Mexico
• July 1
  • SpaceX Falcon 9 Euclid Telescope, 11:11 A.M. ET
    • SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
• July 2
  • SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink Group 5-13
    • SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California

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Virgin Galactic flies first commercial mission

In contrast to the usual Blue Origin crewed flights, which primarily cater to the ultra-wealthy for sightseeing missions, Virgin Galactic’s first commercial flight will feature three Italians who will fly and conduct 13 experiments. Here is a list of the six crew members that will be part of Thursday’s spaceflight:

• Mike Masucci – VSS Unity Commander
• Nicola Pecile – VSS Unity Pilot
• Col. Walter Villadei – Virtute 1 Commander
• Lt. Col. Angelo Landolfi
• Pantaleone Carlucci
• Colin Bennett – VG Astronaut Instructor

The Virtute 1 mission will carry 13 experiments on board, some of which will be automated, while others will be controlled or worn by the crew. Some of the experiments will focus on studying the health and well-being of the crew members on board, while others will examine the effects of microgravity on various items. One example is the study of combustion of biofuels developed for use here on Earth.

A notable first for Virgin Galactic on this flight is the use of the mission for training a future orbital spaceflight. Col. Villadei, who served as the backup pilot for the Axiom-2 mission, will eventually fly on an orbital mission to the International Space Station. This flight will provide him with operational training for that future spaceflight.

SpaceX to start H2 2023 off strong

SpaceX has achieved an impressive launch rate this year, with a total of 43 Falcon 9 and Heavies launches so far. However, they are still behind schedule to reach 100 launches by the end of the year. Nevertheless, SpaceX will kick off the second half of the year with a full weekend of launches.

First on the schedule is a launch for the European Space Agency’s latest space observatory, the Euclid Telescope. This observatory will focus on studying the universe, particularly in the fields of dark matter and energy.

On Sunday, SpaceX is expected to launch another Starlink mission, commencing July with two Falcon 9 launches in quick succession.