The US aviation authority has given the green light to Virgin Galactic to resume space flights. The Federal Aviation Administration withdrew its approval after the airline failed to report a flight in July that veered outside its designated airspace.
spaceship Unit 22 . Mission exited its designated airspace due to a conic slither warning, According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in September. At takeoff, the plane had not flown vertically enough, which caused it to stall on return and landing.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Including ReutersOnly Virgin Galactic ships now have more comprehensive systems for more and faster reporting to the FAA. Those were proposals from Virgin Galactic, which were approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The expanded airspace will be the result of “updated calculations” on the part of the company. For example, there must be “sufficient airspace for the various possible flight paths”. About Enhanced Notifications to FAA Virgin says It includes “additional steps to ensure the company is able to send real-time mission notifications to the FAA.”
During the mission of Unit 22, a Virgin Galactic spaceship with six people on board flew at an altitude of about 86 kilometers. During the suborbital spaceflight, the two pilots and four passengers experienced weightlessness for about four minutes, after which the spacecraft returned to New Mexico.
In the meantime, we are also working on Unit 23. Sometime in mid-October, the spaceship should take off. There will be three Italians on board, from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council. They pay for the trip. At the same time, the effects of moving from a gravity environment to a low-gravity environment will be examined. Because of a problem in unit part 23 delay, so you won’t suffer from the Federal Aviation Administration’s temporary no-fly zone.
The 22nd and VSS Unity mission crew in flight. Source: Virgo Galaxy