Turkish Astronaut and Private Citizens Rocket to Space Aboard Virgin Galactic's Unity Spaceplane

On a historic Saturday, June 8, two pilots, a Turkish research astronaut, and three private citizens soared into space and returned safely aboard Virgin Galactic's Unity spaceplane. The flight marked the company's 12th piloted up-and-down sub-orbital journey, with its seventh carrying paying customers. This mission also served as the final flight of Unity as the company sets its sights on developing the more advanced Delta spaceplanes, scheduled for commercial operations in 2026.

The Unity rocket plane, manned by veteran pilot Nicola Pecile and rookie Jameel Janjua, took off from New Mexico's Spaceport America at 10:31 a.m. EDT, attached to Virgin Galactic's twin-fuselage ferry ship, Eve. Following a standard flight plan, the spaceplane was released at an altitude of 44,500 feet, where its hybrid rocket motor ignited to propel it into a supersonic climb out of the lower atmosphere.

Traveling at nearly three times the speed of sound, the engine shut down, allowing the passengers to experience about three minutes of weightlessness while marveling at the Earth's stunning views. Unity reached an altitude of 54.4 miles, surpassing the 50-mile mark considered the "boundary" of space by NASA and the U.S. military.

A Diverse Crew and Microgravity Research

Accompanying the pilots were Italian Giorgio Manenti, Irving Pergament of New York, Californian Anand Sadhwani, and Tuva Atasever, the second Turkish astronaut to venture into space. Atasever, sponsored by Axiom Space of Houston, conducted microgravity research to study the effects of weightlessness, with the aim of advancing Turkey's space research efforts and inspiring future generations.

After the peak of the trajectory, the passengers secured themselves back into their seats for the descent, ultimately landing on Spaceport America's 15,000-foot-long runway. The entire mission, from takeoff to landing, lasted approximately one hour.

Virgin CEO Michael Colglazier highlighted the groundbreaking achievements of the Unity spaceplane in human spaceflight and emphasized the company's momentum towards deploying the first Delta Class ships in 2026, marking the transition from Unity to the new Delta design.

The success of Saturday's flight added to Virgin Galactic's track record, having launched 61 passengers and crew on 12 sub-orbital space flights since its inaugural test flight in December 2018. Notably, among the passengers was company founder Richard Branson, who also participated in the momentous journey.

While Virgin Galactic operates with the Unity spaceplane, Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, offers sub-orbital spaceflights using the New Shepard crew capsule and ground-launched rocket. Blue Origin has conducted 38 space tourist flights, including Bezos' own venture into space, since commencing crewed flights in July 2021.