Virgin Galactic Unity Soars To Suborbital Space With Commercial Passengers For 2nd Time
Virgin Galactic successfully conducted its second commercial spaceflight. VSS Unity soared to suborbital space and back with 3 passengers and the instructor that trained them, along with 2 pilots.
Passengers: Jon Goodwin, Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers
Crew: Commander C.J. Sturckow, pilot Kelly Latimer and Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses
Credit: Virgin Galactic
Passengers: Jon Goodwin, Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers
Crew: Commander C.J. Sturckow, pilot Kelly Latimer and Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses
Credit: Virgin Galactic
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TechTranscript
00:00 The very last preparation that the pilots in spaceship do before release is they push
00:06 that control stick all the way forward, ensuring that we have a perfect separation.
00:11 We're 15 seconds.
00:17 Ten.
00:20 Five.
00:23 Three, two, one.
00:28 Release.
00:32 Ignition.
00:34 Good control.
00:40 There's Mach 1.
00:41 The pilots have started trimming for that turn towards space.
00:48 Trim is now set.
00:49 There is max Q. That's the point of maximum pressure exerted on the vehicle by the atmosphere.
00:55 Pilots on board are experiencing about 3 Gs right now and traveling over 1,000 miles an
01:03 hour.
01:04 That's incredible.
01:05 I can imagine they're having quite a great time.
01:09 We're at Mach 2.
01:11 We're in the vertical headed towards space.
01:16 This is the part where they're seeing Earth move away and seeing space come into view
01:21 and seeing that they're going to space and just it is an incredible feeling.
01:29 We've got about Mach 2.8, Mach 3 approximately and rocket motor cutoff.
01:35 Amazing.
01:36 The crowds here are just absolutely going wild.
01:40 I can't imagine what's happening in Antigua with them cheering them on.
01:45 Incredible.
01:46 Go Keisha.
01:47 Go Anna.
01:48 Go John.
01:50 So everybody on board has been cleared to unstrap and enjoy that zero G experience.
01:55 The pilots have unlocked the feather.
01:57 That's the preparation so they can raise the feather here momentarily.
02:01 They're engaging the RCS as well.
02:04 The feather is now starting to move on its way up.
02:08 Everyone's up out of their seats.
02:09 Oh, it's incredible.
02:10 They're all -- I know.
02:11 It's amazing.
02:12 They're all going to the window and taking in this just absolutely incredible view of
02:18 Earth.
02:19 It's a planet where all of their experiences are held.
02:22 Everything they've ever known is down below.
02:25 The feather is all the way up.
02:27 We have a predicted apogee of about 289,000 feet.
02:31 That is amazing.
02:32 Our crew looks like they're having an absolutely incredible time and they are officially astronauts.
02:38 Welcome to space.
02:39 Congratulations to John, to Keisha, to Anna on becoming astronauts today and a special
02:45 congratulations to our Unity pilot, Kelly, for her first space flight.
02:49 Welcome back to space, CJ and Beth.
02:53 The vehicle is oriented in that back flip or that upside down maneuver from our perspective.
02:59 You can see them just enjoying that view of the Earth below.
03:02 Man, it's just incredible.
03:05 I can see that they just can't take their eyes away.
03:09 It's hard for us to describe.
03:10 We can obviously see they're having just an incredible time in space taking in the views,
03:15 but it's an experience.
03:17 It's the silence.
03:18 It's the views.
03:19 It's seeing our brilliant planet against the matte black of space.
03:23 I can't imagine what they're going through right now and I can't wait to hear about it.
03:31 We just achieved our apogee at 290,000 feet.
03:36 That's 88.5 kilometers.
03:38 Amazing.
03:39 An apogee is actually a very unique part of our experience.
03:43 It's when our vehicle begins that descent back down to Earth and everything stands still.
03:50 You take a moment in the cabin, silent, and looking out as a crew.
03:55 It's beautiful.
03:56 It's an experience I can only describe with these words, but one to be felt, really.
04:01 Yes.
04:02 The pilots have initiated the motion to return the vehicle around, complete that back flip
04:07 all the way around, and orient us for the reentry.
04:14 They've just made the return to seat call.
04:15 They do that before we get to about 0.1 Gs.
04:19 The pilots tell the passengers when to return to their seats and then it's something that
04:23 our training team has made very natural and intuitive, even though you're in that reduced
04:30 G environment.
04:31 Yes, absolutely.
04:32 During the days up leading to training, it's something that all of our crew practice.
04:38 Our cabin is very purposefully designed to allow for our crew to get back into their
04:44 seats and even on reentry, the amount of Gs that you feel, it's designed that anyone can
04:53 do it as we've seen today.
04:55 The views are going to be amazing on the way down, too.
04:58 When we talk about space travel, right, with the boost, everybody recognizes that as exciting
05:04 and thrilling, but the reentry is actually quite thrilling as well.
05:07 We have shock waves that form over the top of the vehicle.
05:13 Right now, they're experiencing the max G on reentry of about 3.5.
05:17 We're supersonic, so if you're outside here at the Spaceport America, you should hear
05:22 a double sonic boom as spaceship once again breaks the sound barrier on reentry.
05:28 Right now, we just passed subsonic.
05:31 Amazing.
05:32 The crowds, again, are just cheering on our entire crew.
05:35 They're going to be able to see the vehicle as it comes down to land, and our crew here
05:42 are also going to be just, again, they're going to be able to see Spaceport America.
05:47 They're going to be able to just see that their family and their friends are there cheering
05:52 them on as they come back and return to Spaceport America.
05:55 We've passed below 60,000 feet.
05:58 Once we get to about 53,000 to 55,000 feet, we'll command the feather down.
06:03 That'll result in the nose of the spaceship dropping, and then once the feather is down
06:09 and locked, which it's now moving, the crew will pull back on the stick and make a gentle
06:14 return to level flight.
06:17 I remember during the reentry, I just could not, again, I just could not stop looking
06:21 out the window.
06:23 The landscape of New Mexico is just very indicative of this planet.
06:28 It's beautiful, and it's that, it really just amplifies going to space, looking down on
06:34 just the beautiful planet you've just left.
06:37 The feather is now down and locked, so the pilots are starting that gentle pull back
06:43 to straight and level flight.
06:45 Spaceship is now a glider, so it's all about balancing that potential and kinetic energy.
06:50 If they want to go faster, they push the nose down, and if they want to go slower, they
06:55 pull back and bring the nose up.
06:57 It's absolutely incredible.
06:58 G2 is a flight for the history books.
07:02 The crew on board are on the leading edge of broadening space access and are taking
07:06 the first steps in hopes that others may find it easier to follow their lead.
07:09 Now, Keisha and Anna have become astronauts today thanks to Space for Humanity, whose
07:14 mission is to expand access to space for everyone, and to talk more about their mission
07:20 and their purpose, we actually have a special guest in the studio, Space for Humanity's
07:23 executive director, Rachel Lyons.
07:26 Rachel, welcome to the studio.
07:27 Thank you so much for having me, Serisha.
07:29 It's such an honor to be here.
07:31 Oh my gosh, you must just be absolutely pumped.
07:33 So before we talk about Keisha and Anna, I know we all want to, I wanted to ask, could
07:38 you tell us about Space for Humanity's mission?
07:41 Absolutely, yeah, and I am so excited.
07:43 The team is so excited.
07:44 It's such a dream come true to see this happening, to see Keisha and Anna and John going to space.
07:50 I'm like pinching myself here watching this whole thing come to fruition.
07:54 And so Space for Humanity, we're a nonprofit organization founded by Dylan Taylor, who's
07:58 a space investor and founder and CEO.
08:02 And our mission, as you have been mentioning, is to sponsor people from all over the world
08:07 to go to space.
08:08 Yeah.
08:09 When, also, as you guys have both been mentioning, when people go to space and they look back
08:13 down at our planet as this interconnected, fragile, beautiful, finite planet, it changes
08:21 a person's perspective forever.
08:22 Yeah.
08:23 As you spoke about so beautifully.
08:24 Absolutely.
08:25 Yeah.
08:26 And so we're really passionate about giving that perspective to as many people as possible
08:31 by sending people who can be representatives for different areas and nations and places
08:36 that haven't necessarily had exposure to this.
08:40 And then so they can come back down and be that for the people from their country, the
08:46 people in their communities.
08:47 Yeah.
08:48 Could you talk a little bit more about that?
08:49 What impact do you see your citizen astronauts having, or what impact do you hope that they'll
08:53 have upon return to Earth?
08:55 Yeah.
08:56 So we've sent two people to space so far.
08:58 Of course, we're so grateful for this partnership with Virgin Galactic to send Keisha to space.
09:02 And then more soon that, no announcements yet though.
09:07 And so in terms of the impact that we hope that they have, I would say that it's different
09:13 depending on the person.
09:14 And we can't predict what that is.
09:16 But what we're looking for is people who are committed to making a difference in their
09:20 communities, people who have a track record of success, people who have a track record
09:25 of doing things that make a difference in the world, people who are natural leaders.
09:30 And so the hope is that each of them come back down and make a difference in a way that's
09:34 true for them.
09:35 And like I said, we can't predict that.
09:37 It's not prescriptive.
09:38 And depending on the cares and the passions of the individual, it'll look different.
09:42 Absolutely.
09:43 And so that's the cool thing about Keisha and Anna going to space and just watching
09:48 the people that are impacted and their unique message that Virgin Galactic has done such
09:53 a beautiful job of capturing.
09:56 It's just amazing to watch.
09:57 Yeah.
09:58 I mean, actually, speaking of Keisha and Anna, I mean, you've seen their journey from when
10:02 they were selected.
10:03 You were there.
10:04 Yeah.
10:05 And so, you know, being there, Keisha's reaction to her journey, training for spaceflight,
10:11 being here on site, and then you saw her go to space.
10:13 What impact have you already seen that journey make?
10:16 Yeah.
10:17 So, yeah, we were there just about two years ago, a little bit less than two years ago
10:20 now.
10:21 Myself, Richard Branson, some other Virgin Galactic team members and other people that
10:25 were part of the campaign.
10:27 And so I had the honor of going to Keisha's house and we knocked on her back door and
10:33 we surprised her.
10:35 And Richard Branson's face just, you know, greeting her when she opened the door.
10:38 That's where we saw the screen.
10:39 Yeah, exactly.
10:40 And she saw it in person.
10:41 Exactly.
10:42 Exactly.
10:43 And so, you know, that was a dream come true because that was the first time we had ever
10:48 given someone a ticket to space.
10:51 And so to watch this now two years later and also to watch the impact that she's having
10:55 on Antigua.
10:56 I mean, I've never been, I've been to a handful of space launches at this point and I don't
11:01 think I've ever met, even met someone from the Caribbean at one of these space launches.
11:06 And so now there's reporters, there's people from Keisha's community, you know, there's
11:10 people who are telling me what their flag means and what it means for them as a nation
11:14 to have Keisha be going to space, Keisha and Anna.
11:17 It's just, it's incredible to watch and she is an inspiration.
11:21 They are both inspirations for so many different demographics, so many different groups of
11:26 people and they're, as I've mentioned before, their messages are profound already and they
11:32 haven't even seen the earth from space yet.
11:34 Yeah.
11:35 I mean, they represent such an incredible community.
11:37 Of course, Antigua, Barbuda, Caribbean, mothers, daughters, college, university students, women.
11:45 The boundaries they're breaking is just absolutely mind blowing and they're just the first.
11:50 There's going to be many more.
11:51 So I know you're eager to get back and cheer them on as they come into land, but anything
11:55 you want to say just to close out and, you know, just tell us about your excitement for
12:00 Keisha and Anna landing and being there to cheer them on.
12:03 Yeah, no, I mean, I guess all I'll say is I've had the pleasure of spending some time
12:08 with Keisha.
12:09 After we surprised her, she and her husband gave me a tour of the island for a day afterwards
12:14 and for her, this is like the biggest dream of her life.
12:19 And she gets to bring her daughter on that too.
12:22 And so I think that's what I will leave everyone with is just imagining what it would be like
12:29 for someone who's dreamed of this forever to get to go and have this experience and
12:32 be cheered on by her entire community.
12:34 It's absolutely incredible.
12:36 I know you're going to be right there when they get back to give them the biggest hug.
12:40 Yeah, definitely.
12:41 I can't wait.
12:43 Amazing.
12:44 So speaking of cheer, let's check back in in Antigua with Chewy.
12:51 So, we're going to talk about Keisha and Anna in a second.
13:15 We also want to ask you to tell us about the space community.
13:16 So, Keisha, I'm here with the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and we just witnessed
13:19 something absolutely amazing.
13:21 Prime Minister, what does this mean for Antigua and Barbuda?
13:23 Well, it's the most significant event for the people of Antigua and Barbuda and the
13:28 Caribbean.
13:29 This is certainly a major achievement and an achievement that will help to inspire great
13:35 ambitions of the Antigua and Barbuda people.
13:37 We're very proud of the courage and certainly the resilience of Keisha and her daughter.
13:45 And we are just very happy.
13:46 Thank you.
13:47 As you can see.
13:48 We're going to have a little bit of a break.
13:49 We'll be back in a second.
13:50 Sorry.
13:51 All right.
13:52 It's possible.
13:53 We're good.
13:54 20 seconds goes fast.
13:55 All right.
13:56 We got it.
13:57 Oh, amazing, amazing, amazing.
14:00 The energy in Antigua is just incredible.
14:03 I can feel the energy here at Spaceport is absolutely amazing as we welcome our crew
14:08 back as they come in for landing.
14:10 Now, let's take it over.
14:11 JR, can you give us an update on their progress back to Earth?
14:14 Yeah, I sure can.
14:15 We're at this point just under 12,000 feet.
14:19 Kelly was at the controls there for most of the glide.
14:23 CJ has just resumed control of the flying the spaceship.
14:28 So the approach checks are in work.
14:34 They've planned to manage their energy management as you do with a glider.
14:40 And now hitting those waypoints as they come in to runway 34 here at Spaceport America.
14:46 So that's south to north on the runway.
14:51 For those non-pilots tuning in, those numbers represent the first two numbers on the magnetic
14:56 heading of your compass.
14:58 So 34 is 340 degrees.
15:01 So we're doing a turn to final right now.
15:05 And that's a left turn so that CJ, the pilot, the commander in the ship has a view of the
15:11 runway.
15:12 The landing gear is now down and locked.
15:18 And we're about 8,700 feet.
15:21 Amazing.
15:22 Again, I've said this before many times, but the crew have this incredible view not only
15:27 of the New Mexican landscape, but of our Spaceport facility, which is this incredible facility
15:33 where they spent the last few days bonding with their crew and training with their crew.
15:37 So of course, it holds a special part in their hearts.
15:41 And they get to see that view on their way down.
15:44 So we're 1,000 feet above the runway.
15:46 The runway here is about 4,500 feet or 500 feet.
15:51 Pre-flare, that's pulling the nose up and taking advantage of the ground effect.
15:57 It's extra lift you get when you're close to the ground.
15:59 We've crossed the threshold.
16:00 That's the beginning of the runway.
16:05 Beautiful.
16:10 And touchdown of the main gear.
16:11 Now CJ's going to hold the nose gear up for a little bit.
16:14 That helps bleed off the energy that the spaceship has using the air drag associated with that.
16:25 And I started to lower the nose.
16:33 And the nose gear is now down.
16:38 So at a designated airspeed, the pilots have the option to apply the brakes or not.
16:44 They can let the vehicle roll to a stop.
16:48 We have plenty enough runway here.
16:49 They are applying the brakes today.
16:52 We have 12,000 feet of runway here at Space Port America.
16:57 And 200 feet wide.
16:59 So plenty of room.