— This story has been updated following Virgin Galactic's successful completion of its Unity 25 flight, with additional data from the flight and statements from Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier and Mission Specialist Jamila Gilbert.
Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) just did something the space tourism company hadn't done in nearly two years — fly a crew of people into space.
In a flight Thursday morning, Virgin Galactic's "mothership," VMS Eve, launched from Spaceport America and carried the company's spaceship, VSS Unity, up to around 50,000 feet before the spaceship detached, fired up its rockets and sent two pilots and four mission specialists into the far upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere.
At approximately 10:30 a.m. MST, Virgin Galactic announced on Twitter that VSS Unity had reached space after being released by VMS Eve once it hit its release altitude of around 45,000 feet. About 10 minutes later, the company posted that Unity touched back down at Spaceport America.
In total, the flight lasted nearly an hour and a half. VSS Unity was released about one hour in and reached space a few minutes later, hitting its highest point at 54.2 miles above New Mexico, according to Virgin Galactic's Twitter updates.
"Witnessing our inspiring crew's pure joy upon landing, I have complete confidence in the unique astronaut experience we have built for our customers," Michael Colglazier, Virgin Galactic's CEO, said in a statement after VSS Unity landed. "Our teams now begin post-flight analysis as well as preparation for 'Galactic 01,' our commercial research mission, planned for late June."
The Unity 25 flight marks the fifth spaceflight for Virgin Galactic. The last was in July 2021, when the company's founder, Sir Richard Branson, flew into space on VSS Unity.
Since then, VMS Eve has undergone some mechanical upgrades in Mojave, California, including updates to the pylon holding the spaceship before it detaches. Eve flew from Mojave to Spaceport America in mid-February, and VSS Unity underwent a pair of test flights — one mated configuration flight and a glide flight — earlier this spring before Thursday's powered test flight.
Unity 25's mission objective was to assess Virgin Galactic's spaceflight system and astronaut experience before beginning commercial service. That first commercial service flight, dubbed Galactic 01, is scheduled for late June when a paying crew from the Italian Air Force is set to launch out of Spaceport America.
Jamila Gilbert, the New Mexico native on board the flight, joined Virgin Galactic in 2019. A graduate of New Mexico State University, Gilbert is an artist and communications professional who, as one of the mission specialists, was there to help the space tourism company evaluate the customer experience on board the Thursday test flight, according to the company.
"I'm not only honored to be one of the first 100 women and one of 16 Hispanic and Latinx people to go to space, I'm also incredibly proud to represent the community from where this new space age is blossoming," Gilbert said in a statement following the flight. "As one of the very few nontechnical people to fly to space, my role in this mission marks a sea change in who can go to space, and is a promising sign of the opportunities Virgin Galactic and the commercial space sector are ushering in."
The price of Virgin Galactic's stock sat at $4.235 as of 11:35 p.m. MST on Thursday.
New Mexico Inno will continue to update this story following Virgin Galactic's Unity 25 flight Thursday morning.
