![1362786](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Virgin_Galactic_SpaceShipTwo_"Unity"_rollout_19Feb2016,_FAITH_hangar,_Mojave,_California.jpg/2000px-Virgin_Galactic_SpaceShipTwo_"Unity"_rollout_19Feb2016,_FAITH_hangar,_Mojave,_California.jpg)
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
VSS Unity
VSS Unity (Virgin Space Ship Unity, registration: N202VG), previously referred to as VSS Voyager, is a retired SpaceShipTwo-class suborbital rocket-powered crewed spaceplane. It was the second SpaceShipTwo to be built and was part of the Virgin Galactic fleet. It first reached space as defined by the United States (above 50 miles or 80.5 km) on 13 December 2018, on the VP-03 mission.
Unity was able to reach space as defined by the U.S. Air Force, NASA, and the FAA, by going over 50 miles (80.5 km) above sea level. However, it was unable to go above the Kármán line, the FAI's defined space boundary of 100 km (62.1 miles).
VSS Unity was rolled out on 19 February 2016 and completed ground-based system integration testing in September 2016, prior to its first flight on 8 September 2016.
Unity was retired on 8 June 2024 after its final flight took place on that date, as Virgin Galactic shifted its focus to the next generation Delta-class vehicles.
VSS Unity, the second SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane for Virgin Galactic, was the first SpaceShipTwo built by The Spaceship Company. The ship's name was announced on 19 February 2016. Prior to the naming announcement, the craft was referred to as SpaceShipTwo, Serial Number Two. There was speculation in 2004 that Serial Number Two would be named VSS Voyager, an unofficial name that was repeatedly used in media coverage. The name Unity was chosen by British physicist Stephen Hawking. Hawking's eye was also used as the model for the eye logo on the side of Unity.
The manufacture of Unity began in 2012. The spacecraft's registration, N202VG, was filed in September 2014. As of early November 2014, the build of Unity was about 90 percent structurally complete, and 65 percent complete overall. As of April 2015, ground tests of Unity were projected to be able to begin as early as late 2015, after being projected as early as mid-2015 as of November 2014. On 21 May 2015, Unity reached the milestone of bearing the weight of the airframe on its own wheels. The spaceship was unveiled on 19 February 2016, as Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson had projected in November 2015; ground and flight testing commenced thereafter.
VSS Unity was the second SpaceShipTwo to be completed; the first, VSS Enterprise, was destroyed in a crash in late October 2014.
After rollout and unveiling, a phase of testing called "Integrated Vehicle Ground Testing" began on VSS Unity in February 2016.
Hub AI
VSS Unity AI simulator
(@VSS Unity_simulator)
VSS Unity
VSS Unity (Virgin Space Ship Unity, registration: N202VG), previously referred to as VSS Voyager, is a retired SpaceShipTwo-class suborbital rocket-powered crewed spaceplane. It was the second SpaceShipTwo to be built and was part of the Virgin Galactic fleet. It first reached space as defined by the United States (above 50 miles or 80.5 km) on 13 December 2018, on the VP-03 mission.
Unity was able to reach space as defined by the U.S. Air Force, NASA, and the FAA, by going over 50 miles (80.5 km) above sea level. However, it was unable to go above the Kármán line, the FAI's defined space boundary of 100 km (62.1 miles).
VSS Unity was rolled out on 19 February 2016 and completed ground-based system integration testing in September 2016, prior to its first flight on 8 September 2016.
Unity was retired on 8 June 2024 after its final flight took place on that date, as Virgin Galactic shifted its focus to the next generation Delta-class vehicles.
VSS Unity, the second SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane for Virgin Galactic, was the first SpaceShipTwo built by The Spaceship Company. The ship's name was announced on 19 February 2016. Prior to the naming announcement, the craft was referred to as SpaceShipTwo, Serial Number Two. There was speculation in 2004 that Serial Number Two would be named VSS Voyager, an unofficial name that was repeatedly used in media coverage. The name Unity was chosen by British physicist Stephen Hawking. Hawking's eye was also used as the model for the eye logo on the side of Unity.
The manufacture of Unity began in 2012. The spacecraft's registration, N202VG, was filed in September 2014. As of early November 2014, the build of Unity was about 90 percent structurally complete, and 65 percent complete overall. As of April 2015, ground tests of Unity were projected to be able to begin as early as late 2015, after being projected as early as mid-2015 as of November 2014. On 21 May 2015, Unity reached the milestone of bearing the weight of the airframe on its own wheels. The spaceship was unveiled on 19 February 2016, as Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson had projected in November 2015; ground and flight testing commenced thereafter.
VSS Unity was the second SpaceShipTwo to be completed; the first, VSS Enterprise, was destroyed in a crash in late October 2014.
After rollout and unveiling, a phase of testing called "Integrated Vehicle Ground Testing" began on VSS Unity in February 2016.