Virgin Galactic flies its first astronauts to the edge of space

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Doka
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Virgin Galactic flies its first astronauts to the edge of space

Post by Doka » 12-13-2018 12:05 PM

The Race is On! :D




Virgin Galactic flies its first astronauts to the edge of space, taking one step closer to space tourism

•The two pilots on board Virgin Galactic's spacecraft Unity become the company's first astronauts.
•Virgin Galactic said the test flight reached an altitude of 51.4 miles, or nearly 83 kilometers.
•The spacecraft also carried four NASA funded technology experiments on board.

Michael Sheetz | @thesheetztweetz
Published 1 Hour Ago Updated 5 Mins Ago

Virgin Galactic completed its longest rocket-powered flight ever on Thursday, taking a step ahead in the nascent business of space tourism.

Virgin Galactic said the test flight reached an altitude of 51.4 miles, or nearly 83 kilometers. The U.S. military and NASA consider pilots who have flown above 80 kilometers to be astronauts. Test pilots in 2004 were awarded a commercial astronaut badge by the Federal Aviation Administration for flying a previous, experimental iteration of Virgin Galactic's spacecraft design.

Lifted by the jet-powered mothership Eve, the spacecraft Unity took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in the California desert. Upon reaching an altitude above 40,000 feet, the carrier aircraft released Unity. The two-member crew of Mark Stucky and Dave Mackay then piloted the spacecraft in a roaring burn which lasted 60 seconds. The flight pushed Unity to a speed of Mach 3.9, nearly three times the speed of sound, as it screamed into a climb toward the edge of space.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/13/virgin- ... space.html
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Is This Trip Really Necessary?

Post by Riddick » 12-14-2018 01:38 AM

I thought I'd find prominent climate hawks "going into orbit" over this news about edge of space joy-rides, but I'm kinda shocked nothing more recent or relevant came up in my search than this 2010 article -

Space Tourism: A Potential New Source Of Warming Pollution
A spike in black carbon emissions from suborbital private flights may pose serious consequences for the Earth's stratosphere—causing as much as a 1-degree C rise in polar temps and a 5-15% reduction in polar ice, reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters

Before condemning it, I'd like to see the climate hawks give it a try? Preferably on one way tickets. :wink:
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