What is Galactic 05 Mission? Meet the crew of Virgin Galactic's 5th commercial space flight
Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
Fifth Commercial Mission
Virgin Galactic is on track to embark on its fifth commercial mission of 2023, marking a potential year-end culmination for their suborbital spaceflight operations. According to Virgin Galactic's website, the next mission in line, Galactic 05, is scheduled to lift off on November 2nd, 2023.
Galactic 05
This Galactic 05 mission will host three passengers, who will fly onboard Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo named VSS Unity, experiencing several minutes of weightlessness while engaging in research experiments. Additionally, they will have a rare opportunity to gaze upon the Earth from a vantage point in the suborbital position. The tickets for a seat on VSS Unity could cost somewhere between $250,000 to $400,000.
What is Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic, the American spaceflight company was founded by the British Businessman, Richard Branson and Virgin Group. The company is headquartered in California and conducts its operations from New Mexico.
Launch
Their suborbital spacecraft are air-launched from beneath a carrier airplane known as White Knight Two or Virgin Mothership Eve(VMS Eve). VMS Eve gracefully raises VSS Unity into the skies. At an altitude of approximately 50,000 feet (15,000 meters), Eve releases Unity, enabling it to ignite its single rocket motor and continue its journey along a suborbital trajectory.
The Crew
Out of the three passengers who will be onboard VSS Unity, two are Dr Alan Stern and Kellie Gerardi, designated as Astronauts 020 and 021 respectively. Accompanying the passengers is a select team from Virgin Galactic. This includes one of the group's astronaut instructors, responsible for meticulously preparing the two passengers for their journey, and two experienced pilots at the helm of the VSS Unity cockpit.
Anonymous Third Passenger
Virgin Galactic provides early seat reservation-holders with the option of anonymity in its commercial space flights. Passenger information releases have varied in consistency leading up to these missions. For Galactic 05, the company has unveiled the names of two of the three passengers, leaving the third individual identified simply as "Astronaut 022 – Private Astronaut – Franco-Italian nationality."
Alan Stern's Mission Aboard VSS Unity
While Galactic 05 marks Alan Stern's first foray into space, his career has taken him to numerous far-off places in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. As an accomplished aircraft pilot, he has explored the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean, journeyed to the South Pole, and participated in high-altitude and parabolic flights.
Experiments by Sterns
Alan Stern will wear a biomedical harness to monitor his vital signs throughout the flight and will be involved in risk-reduction operations and astronomical observations to optimise suborbital spacecraft environments.
Kellie Gerardi
Astronaut 021, Kellie Gerardi, is not only a missions operations lead at Palantir Technologies but also a payload specialist at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS). She is also a notable author and a communicator in the fields of space and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), with a substantial following.
Unique Biometric Experiments by Kellie Gerardi
During her mission, Kellie Gerardi will wear a continuous glucose monitor directly on her skin, which will passively monitor her blood glucose levels throughout the flight. Additionally, she will utilise a biomonitoring device known as Astroskin to continuously track her vital signs from take-off to landing.
Colin Bennett
Colin Bennett, known as Galactic 05's astronaut instructor and Virgin Galactic's Astronaut 003, has played a pivotal role in preparing the entire crew for the mission ahead. He is no stranger to Virgin Galactic, having flown with company founder Richard Branson on VSS Unity's final test flight in July 2021.
