VSS Unity

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VSS Unity
Type Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo
Manufacturer The Spaceship Company
Construction number 2 [1]
Registration N202VG [2]
Owners and operators Virgin Galactic
In service 2016 (expected)[3]

VSS Unity[4](Tail number: N202VG[2]), previously referred to as VSS Voyager, is a SpaceShipTwo-class suborbital rocket-powered manned spaceplane. It is the second SpaceShipTwo to be built, and will be used as part of the Virgin Galactic Fleet.

The spacecraft was rolled out on 19 February 2016,[5][6] and is currently undergoing system integration testing in a series of ground tests.[7]

Overview

File:Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo "Unity" rollout 19Feb2016, FAITH hanger, Mojave, California.jpg
Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo "Unity" rollout, 19 February 2016, FAITH hangar, Mojave, California

VSS Unity, the second SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane for Virgin Galactic, [8] is the first SpaceShipTwo built by The Spaceship Company. The ship's name was announced on February 19, 2016.[4] Prior to the naming announcement, the craft was referred to as SpaceShipTwo, Serial Number Two.[9][10] There was speculation in 2004 that Serial Number Two would be named VSS Voyager,[11] an unofficial name that was repeatedly used in media coverage.[12][13][14] The name "Unity" was chosen by British physicist Stephen Hawking. Hawking's eye is also used as the model for the eye logo on the side of Unity.[15]

Unity will undergo ground and airborne testing in 2016.[3]

History

The manufacture of Unity began in 2012.[2] The spacecraft's registration, N202VG, was filed in September 2014.[16] As of early November 2014, the build of Unity was about 90 percent structurally complete, and 65 percent complete overall. As of April 2015, Unity was approximately 75% complete,[17] and initial ground tests were projected to be able to begin as early as late 2015,[18] after being projected as early as mid-2015 as of November 2014.[1][19][20] On 21 May 2015, Unity reached the milestone of bearing the weight of the airframe on its own wheels.[21] The spaceship was unveiled at a rollout event on 19 February 2016,[citation needed] as Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson had projected in November 2015; ground and flight testing will commence thereafter.[3][22]

VSS Unity is be the second SpaceShipTwo to be completed; the first, VSS Enterprise, was destroyed in a crash in late October 2014.[8][13]

After rollout and unveiling, a phase of testing called "Integrated Vehicle Ground Testing" began on VSS Unity in February 2016.[7]

Test flight program

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See also: VSS Enterprise § Flight test program

VSS Unity will undergo a test regimen similar to VSS Enterprise, then will embark on testing beyond what Enterprise experienced. The test flights are expected to be fewer, as Enterprise has already tested the design's responses under numerous conditions. Testing will start with captive carry, progress to free-flight glide testing, then continue with powered test flights. It is possible that only 2-3 flights under each regime previously tested will be performed, instead of the 5 or 10 that Enterprise performed.[23]

See also

  • Rutan Voyager
  • Space tourism
  • Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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