Purdue University purchases Virgin Galactic flight for staff, students, and alumni

An entire crew made up of Purdue staff members, students, and alumni will be flying on a 2027 Virgin Galactic flight to conduct microgravity research. The five-person crew is supported by grants through NASA, public donations, and alumni personally purchasing their seats.

Being dubbed Purdue 1, the missions will focus on research and may just hint at more flights coming in the future. Purdue has one of the most respected aerospace research programs, with 30 of its graduates going on to become NASA astronauts. This includes Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong.

The mission is headed up by Steven Collicott, a professor of aerospace engineering in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, who received a grant from NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, which funds researchers to fly on suborbital flights with Virgin Galactic or Blue Origin. Also flying will be Purdue graduate student Abigail Mizzi, whose flight is being paid for by school donations.

The final three seats will be filled by Purdue alumni, who will have to purchase their own flights. The first seat will be filled by Jason Williamson, a senior vice president at the design firm Dunaway. A second seat has been filled, but the purchaser has not been announced, and the third seat still remains open.

Virgin Galactic is working on getting its third generation of suborbital spaceplanes off the ground after halting flights of the second-generation vehicle last year. The company hopes to return to business operations next year, with no word yet on when test flights for the new carrier aircraft and spaceplane will begin.