Virgin Galactic’s VMS Eve Takes First Test Flight in 16 Months: Testing Upgraded Features for Spaceliner Unity
Virgin Galactic's carrier plane, VMS Eve, took to the skies on February 15th for the first time in nearly 16 months.
The aircraft conducted a test flight from California's Mojave Air and Space Port.
The flight lasted more than 2.5 hours and reached a maximum altitude of about 41,500 feet.
VMS Eve is a key piece of Virgin Galactic's space tourism hardware.
The plane carries the company's six-passenger VSS Unity spaceliner to an altitude of about 50,000 feet.
VMS Eve and VSS Unity have conducted four such spaceflights to date, most recently in July 2021.
The flight helped test the new pylon and other features of Eve, even though the plane flew solo.
VSS Unity is back at Spaceport America, and Eve will likely join the spaceliner there soon.
The first crewed spaceflight for Virgin Galactic, a research mission for the Italian Air Force, is on target to lift off sometime this spring.
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