Virgin Galactic Launches First Commercial Flight to Space
A team of Italian researchers reached the edge of space Thursday morning, flying aboard Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered plane as the company prepares for monthly commercial flights.
The flight launched from Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, with two Italian Air Force officers and an engineer with the National Research Council of Italy focusing on a series of microgravity experiments during their few minutes of weightless.
One wore a special suit that measured biometric data and physiological responses while another conducted tests using sensors to track heart rate, brain function and other metrics while in microgravity. The third studied how certain liquids and solids mix in that very weak gravity.
Virgin Galactic livestreamed the flight on its website, showing the moment when the ship released from its carrier plane and the rocket was ignited. The entire trip took about 90 minutes, with the plane's touchdown on the runway prompting cheers and claps by Virgin Galactic staff.
With the ship’s copilots, it marked the most Italians in space at the same time. Col. Walter Villadei, a space engineer with the Italian Air Force, celebrated by unfolding an Italian flag while weightless.
Next up for Virgin Galactic will be the first of hundreds of ticket holders, many who have been waiting years for their chance at weightlessness and to see the curvature of the Earth. Those commercial flights are expected to begin in August and will be scheduled monthly, the space tourism company said.
Virgin Galactic has been working for years to send paying passengers on short space trips and in 2021 finally won the federal government’s approval. The company completed its final test fight in May.
The Italian research flight was initially scheduled for the fall of 2021 but Virgin Galactic at the time said it was forced to push back its timeline due to a potential defect in a component used in its flight control system. Then the company spent months upgrading its rocket ship before resuming testing in early 2023.
After reaching an altitude of nearly 50,000 feet (15,000 meters), Virgin Galactic’s space plane is released from a carrier aircraft and drops for a moment before igniting its rocket motor. The rocket shuts off once it reaches space, leaving passengers weight before the ship then glides back to the runway at Spaceport America.
Virgin Galactic has sold about 800 tickets over the past decade, with the initial batch going for $200,000 each. Tickets now cost $450,000 per person.
The company said early fliers have already received their seat assignments.
2021 has been a year filled with extreme weather conditions. Hundreds of thousands of people recently saw the effects of massive tornados that swept across six states. Now, experts say climate change could have played a major role. Jennifer Marlon, research scientist and lecturer at the Yale School of the Environment, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Anthony Tall, sports agent and president of Miracle Sports Agency, joins Cheddar News to talk about the challenges professional sports leagues are facing amid a surge in coronavirus cases across the U.S.
Extreme weather hit all of us in 2021. Deadly heat hit parts of the U.S. that normally don't even need air conditioning. More than 52,000 wildfires broke out, a terrifying example of what can happen when extreme heat mixes with drought. Hurricane Ida was so powerful it actually briefly reversed the flow of the Mississippi River. Cheddar News did a deep dive into this year's unbelievable weather and how climate change may have impacted it.
With the New Year just around the corner, many people will be making new health and fitness goals. However, after the initial January push, it's easy to drop your resolutions and go back to your old habits. Joan Ifland, CEO of Food Addiction Reset, discusses her best tips for following through with New Year's Resolutions.
Carlo and Baker preview President Biden's address to the nation as Omicron becomes the new dominant Covid strain. Plus, Trump gets booed for getting his booster and the White House gets a new puppy.
Alinda Mashiku, Conjunction Analysis and Risk Assessment Deputy Manager at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, joins Future of Space: Humankind's Leap Forward to explain how space debris is threatening operations in space at a time when more satellites are being deployed.
Marshall Smith, Senior Vice President of Space Systems at Nanoracks and Kirk Shireman, Vice President of the Lunar Exploration Campaign at Lockheed Martin join Future of Space: Humankind's Leap Forward to discuss upcoming plans for developing their Starlab commercial space station after being awarded a $160 million contract by NASA.
The CDC recently endorsed the advisory committee's recommendation that people should receive the Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccines over the Johnson & Johnson shot, leaving some questions and concerns for the public. Epidemiologist Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, spoke to Cheddar about the shift in the agency's stance, and what it might mean. "If you already have it, any side effects are already long past," he said. "Going forward is what they're saying. That getting a booster you should get the Moderna or the Pfizer booster, and I don't think they're encouraging anyone to get de novo Johnson & Johnson as their first shot anymore."
The billionaire space race took off in 2021, making major strides in space tourism. That growth is only expected to skyrocket in the next year, as the government and private institutions and companies look to shape the final frontier's exploration. Cheddar News dives into the biggest moments of the year in space, and what comes next for space travel and tourism.
Chloe and Halle Bailey are no strangers to hard work. The sisters got their start performing covers on YouTube and have become a force in the music industry. Since then, the two have spread their wings beyond their duo group to individual projects. Now they're coming together to face off in the LG OLED Ultimate Gaming Showdown. Chloe and Halle join Cheddar News to discuss.
