26.01.2024 podczas lotu Galactic 06 doszło do anomalii w postaci odłączenia sworznia wyrównującego.
Według wstępnych danych, zawleczka wypadła z VMS Eve.
Sworzeń służy do zintegrowania obu pojazdów podczas przygotowań do lotu.
Po starcie sworzeń pomaga również przenieść obciążenie z Unity na pylon i środkową część skrzydła samolotu.
Trzpień wyrównujący odłączył się przedwcześnie, ale nie podano dokładnie kiedy to się stało.
Trwa śledztwo mające wyjaśnić anomalię.
Na razie loty zostały zawieszone.Virgin Galactic grounded after a small part fell off vehicle during latest space tourism flightJackie Wattles By Jackie Wattles, CNN Published 9:15 PM EST, Mon February 5, 2024
A replica of Virgin Galactic's rocket plane sits at the entrance of Spaceport America in Sierra County, New Mexico, on July 8, 2021. Nathan J Fish/Sun-News/USA Today Network/FILECNN — Virgin Galactic is grounded after the company said a small part unintentionally detached from the mothership of its rocket-powered space plane on its latest space tourism flight.
The loss of the part, called an alignment pin, did not impact the safety of the mission, according to the company. The flight, called Galactic 06, launched on January 26 and marked Virgin Galactic’s first space tourism mission of the year after entering commercial service in 2023.
The company discovered the part loss during routine checks and notified government regulators on January 31, “in accordance with regulations,” Virgin Galactic said in a statement. (...)
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/05/world/virgin-galactic-safety-alignment-pin-launch-scn/index.htmlVIRGIN GALACTIC REPORTS FLIGHT ISSUE TO FAAFebruary 5, 2024
(...) The alignment pin helps ensure the spaceship is aligned to the mothership when mating the vehicles on the ground during pre-flight procedures. During mated flight, as the vehicles climb towards release altitude, the alignment pin helps transfer drag and other forces from the spaceship to the shear pin fitting assembly and into the pylon and center wing of the mothership. The shear pin fitting assembly remained both attached and intact on the mothership with no damage. While both parts play a role during mated flight, they do not support the spaceship’s weight, nor do they have an active function once the spaceship is released.
The alignment pin and shear pin fitting assembly performed as designed during the mated portion of the flight, and only the alignment pin detached after the spaceship was released from the mothership. (...)
https://investors.virgingalactic.com/news/news-details/2024/Virgin-Galactic-Reports-Flight-Issue-to-FAA/Virging Galactic, indagine in corso sul sesto volo suborbitaleInserito da Giulia Bonelli | 7 Feb, 2024
Decollata lo scorso 26 gennaio dallo Spazioporto America, nel New Mexico, il veicolo di Virgin Galactic ha subito il distacco di un perno di allineamento. Secondo le prime ricostruzioni dell’azienda, il perno sarebbe caduto dalla nave madre Vms Eve, il veicolo che trasporta in volo lo spazioplano Vss Unity. Il perno viene utilizzato per garantire che Unity sia allineato a Eve durante i preparativi per il volo. Dopo il decollo, il perno contribuisce a trasferire i carichi di resistenza aerodinamica da Unity al pilone e alla sezione centrale dell’ala del velivolo. Il perno di allineamento si sarebbe staccato a seguito della separazione di Unity da Eve, anche se l’azienda non ha ancora precisato dopo quanto tempo questo sia avvenuto.
https://www.globalscience.it/48798/virging-galactic-indagine-in-corso-sul-sesto-volo-suborbitale/Virgin Galactic countersues Boeing about mothership projectJeff Foust April 5, 2024 [SN]
Virgin Galactic selected Aurora Flight Sciences to build two new "mothership" aircraft for its next-generation suborbital spaceplanes in 2022. Credit: Virgin GalacticCAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Virgin Galactic has filed a countersuit against Boeing over a project to develop a new mothership aircraft, arguing in part that Boeing performed poorly.
The suit, filed April 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, comes two weeks after Boeing filed suit against Virgin Galactic in Virginia, alleging that Virgin refused to pay more than $25 million in invoices on the project and misappropriated trade secrets.
https://spacenews.com/virgin-galactic-countersues-boeing-about-mothership-project/https://twitter.com/byEricMJohnson/status/1780610940289073649Virgin Galactic sets date for Unity spacecraft’s final commercial flightPublished: May 3, 2024 at 7:50 a.m. ET By James RogersFollow
Virgin Galactic will replace Unity with its new Delta-class spacecraftThe Galactic 07 mission marks the final flight of Virgin Galactic’s Unity spacecraft and the company’s 12th spaceflight. (VIRGIN GALACTIC)Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. is targeting a launch window that opens June 8 for its milestone Galactic 07 mission.
The Galactic 07 mission will be the final flight of Virgin Galactic’s
SPCE, 8.07% Unity spacecraft before it halts commercial operations to develop its new Delta-class spacecraft.
In a statement released after market close Wednesday, the aerospace and space-tourism company said that Galactic 07 will fly one research astronaut from private space company Axiom Space and three private astronauts. One private astronaut is from California, one is from New York and the third is from Italy, the company said. The names of the private astronauts have not been released.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/virgin-galactic-sets-date-for-unity-spacecrafts-final-commercial-flight-847b7807Virgin Galactic sets date for Unity spacecraft's final commercial flightProvided by Dow Jones May 3, 2024 1:50 pm By James Rogers
Virgin Galactic will replace Unity with its new Delta-class spacecraft
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. is targeting a launch window that opens June 8 for its milestone Galactic 07 mission.
The Galactic 07 mission will be the final flight of Virgin Galactic's (SPCE) Unity spacecraft before it halts commercial operations to develop its new Delta-class spacecraft.
In a statement released after market close Wednesday, the aerospace and space-tourism company said that Galactic 07 will fly one research astronaut from private space company Axiom Space and three private astronauts. One private astronaut is from California, one is from New York and the third is from Italy, the company said. The names of the private astronauts have not been released.
Related: 'Everything going to plan' for Virgin Galactic as ticket prices rise, Truist says
Purdue University and UC Berkeley will also have autonomous payloads on the spacecraft as part of NASA's Flight Opportunities program, which targets suborbital testing of space-exploration technologies. The Galactic 07 mission is the company's second spaceflight in 2024 and its 12th to date.
Virgin Galactic shares ended Thursday's session down 4.9%. The stock is down 64% in 2024, compared with the S&P 500 index's SPX gain of 6.2%.
During the conference call to discuss Virgin Galactic's fourth-quarter results in February, CEO Michael Colglazier said that the Delta Class spaceships remain on track to begin ground and flight testing next year and commercial service in 2026.
Related: Virgin Galactic skyrockets 22%, registers biggest gain in 10 months
Unlike the current Unity spacecraft, which has four seats for paying passengers, the Delta spacecraft will have six seats, and will be capable of making up to eight spaceflights a month, significantly more than Unity's single spaceflight a month.
Virgin Galactic's cash position is being closely watched. The company's shares slid in December after founder Richard Branson ruled out further investment in the space-tourism company, which had recently fleshed out its near-term growth strategy.
The company lost less money than expected in its fourth-quarter results in February, and saw $3 million in revenue, up from $1 million a year before. The top line was "driven by commercial spaceflights and membership fees related to future astronauts," Virgin Galactic said in its release.
Related: Virgin Galactic narrows losses, but the space-tourism stock drops
Virgin Galactic also said it had a "strong" cash position, amounting to $982 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The company saw fourth-quarter free cash flow of negative $114 million, while analysts had expected a FCF of negative $130 million.https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20240503235/virgin-galactic-sets-date-for-unity-spacecrafts-final-commercial-flighthttps://x.com/miguyan2000/status/1786112902992171497