Virgin Galactic is set to launch a new scientific research mission today, marking its fifth regular flight and the final one for 2023. The flight, Galactic-05, scheduled for November 2, will take three passengers on a short suborbital space journey aboard the SpaceShipTwo, named VSS Unity. The passengers, along with crew member and astronaut instructor Colin Bennett, will experience weightlessness and conduct experiments.
Launching from Spaceport America in New Mexico, VSS Unity will be carried to altitude by the mothership VMS Eve before igniting its engine for the suborbital trajectory. This research flight follows the historic Italian scientific mission Virtute-1, which carried 13 experiments.
Two of the passengers are recognized space flight professionals—Alan Stern and Kellie Gerardi. Stern will test biomedical data collection equipment and an astronomical camera prototype, while Gerardi will conduct a fluid dynamics experiment and test a biomonitoring device, representing the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS). Both Stern and Gerardi’s participation signifies the increasing use of commercial suborbital vehicles for cost-effective and rapid scientific research.
The flight, funded by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), is a precursor to future NASA-funded missions. Gerardi’s flight, secured through a partnership with Virgin Galactic, highlights her long-term collaboration with IIAS.
Commanding VSS Unity are Mike “Sooch” Masucci and Kelly Latimer, with Jameel Janjua and Andy Edgell piloting the VMS Eve. The identity of the third passenger, referred to as “Astronaut 022” with Franco-Italian nationality, has not been disclosed.
