Virgin Galactic’s spaceship will again be converted into a suborbital science lab, with VSS Unity carrying an Axiom Space affiliated researcher astronaut who will conduct multiple human-tended experiments. In addition, Purdue University and UC Berkeley will have autonomous payloads on board, supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. This mission showcases Virgin Galactic’s ability to provide a flexible microgravity research platform, benefiting further space exploration initiatives as well as innovations on Earth.
“Discovery and innovation are central to our mission at Virgin Galactic. We’re excited to build on our successful record of facilitating scientific experiments in suborbital space, and we look forward to continuing to expand our role in suborbital research going forward,” said Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic. “‘Galactic 07’ will also mark and celebrate VSS Unity's final commercial flight – an exciting and historic turning point for the business as we dedicate our resources fully to the production of our next-generation Delta spaceships, on track for commercial service in 2026.”
“Axiom Space’s commitment to enabling access to space and providing opportunities for scientific discovery beyond Earth aligns closely with Virgin Galactic’s mission,” said Tejpaul Bhatia, Chief Revenue Officer of Axiom Space. “We are very excited about this upcoming Galactic 07 flight; stay tuned for more on our groundbreaking research and astronaut participant as we get closer to June 8th.”
The hybrid research and private astronaut crew of ‘Galactic 07’ will include:
Astronaut 027 – Researcher Astronaut, Axiom Space Affiliated AstronautAstronaut 028 – Private Astronaut, California, USAAstronaut 029 – Private Astronaut, New York, USAAstronaut 030 – Private Astronaut, Italy
The Virgin Galactic crew will include:
VSS Unity Commander Nicola Pecile and pilot Jameel JanjuaVMS Eve Commander Andy Edgell and pilot C.J. Sturckow
The ‘Galactic 07’ autonomous rack-mounted research payloads will include a Purdue University experiment designed to study propellant slosh in fuel tanks of maneuvering spacecraft, as well as a UC Berkeley payload testing a new type of 3D printing. Virgin Galactic has flown payloads for NASA’s Flight Opportunities program since the Company’s first spaceflight in 2018 and was recently selected by NASA as a contracted flight provider for the next five years.
Today’s announcement follows notification from the FAA that Virgin Galactic’s investigation into the cause of the detachment of an alignment pin from VMS Eve following the release of VSS Unity during the ‘Galactic 06’ mission on January 26th, 2024 is approved. The FAA has accepted Virgin Galactic's final investigation report, as well as the corrective actions that have been made to enhance the retention mechanism of the pin and the addition of a secondary retention mechanism.