Premature? Galactic 01 Crew-Members Announced

On 25 May 2023, Virgin Galactic, the California-based spaceflight subsidiary of archetypal billionaire-cool-guy Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, announced it had successfully completed its Unity 25 space mission—the final shakedown flight of the company’s Unity spacecraft -- or so they believe...

Comes now 26 June and an announcement is made by Virgin Galactic introducing the crew of its planned, 29 June Galactic 01 mission—humankind’s 'first' commercial passenger spaceflight -- unless you count the Blue Origin flights that have been going on for a while now.

Comprising representatives of the Italian Air Force and Italy’s National Research Council, the three-person crew is slated to board VSS (Virgin Space Ship) Unity for a ninety-minute flight during which a number of suborbital scientific experiments are to be undertaken.

Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier remarked: “Galactic 01 is our first commercial spaceflight, and we’re honored to have been selected by the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council to support their first space research mission, Virtue 1. Virgin Galactic’s research missions will usher in a new era of repeatable and reliable access to space for government and research institutions for years to come.”

The Galactic 01 mission will be commanded by Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei, a NASA-trained astronaut qualified on International Space Station (ISS) systems and Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft and Orlan spacesuit.

Colonel Villadei will be joined by Italian Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and physician Angelo Landolfi, who will conduct tests aboard Galactic 01 for purpose of measuring human cognitive performance in microgravity and investigating the mixing of specific solids and liquids in microgravity.

Italy’s National Research Council will be represented aboard the spacecraft by engineer Pantaleone Carlucci, who will conduct tests on microgravity’s effects on human physiology.

The Galactic 01 mission will see VSS Unity piloted by retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel and former U-2, F-16, T-38, and Citation X driver Mike Masucci.

Colonel Masucci will be assisted by former Italian Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and Tornado driver Nicola Pecile.

VMS (Virgin Mother Ship) Eve, the enormous jet aircraft by which VSS Unity is to be borne to launch-altitude, will be piloted by retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel and C-141, C-17, and Boeing 747 SP driver Kelly Latimer and retired Canadian Air Force Major and F-15, F-16, F-18, Tornado, and LearJet driver Jameel Janjua.

Colonel Villadei stated: “The Virtue 1 mission is the first Italian and European suborbital flight—a breakthrough and pathfinder mission conceived and designed with Italian National Research Council and Virgin Galactic to test the versatility of suborbital spaceflight for scientific and technological research. We are flying payloads from multiple disciplines in one mission and are utilizing the entire flight profile to collect invaluable data. Suborbital spaceflight will revolutionize aeronautics transportation in the future, expanding access to space for a much larger community, and advancing the development of scientific research.”

Virgin Galactic intends to livestream the launch of its Galactic 01 spaceflight on VirginGalactic.com. Subject livestream will begin at 09:00 MDT on the day of the flight.

FMI: www.virgingalactic.com