Virgin Galactic may launch 6th commercial spaceflight this week

Mike Wall
·2 min read
The curve of earth against the blackness of space, with part of a silvery spacecraft in the foreground.
The curve of earth against the blackness of space, with part of a silvery spacecraft in the foreground.

Virgin Galactic's sixth commercial spaceflight may be just around the corner.

The launch window for the crewed suborbital mission, known as Galactic 06, opens on Jan. 26. And, to help remind us of this fact and build up interest in the flight, Virgin Galactic just released the mission's patch.

"The patch represents the Ukrainian, Austrian and United States nationalities showcasing our crew's global background. One star for each Pilot and Astronaut crew and a central seven-point star denoting mountains and continents conquered by members of the crew," the company wrote in a post on X on Monday (Jan. 22) that showcased the patch.

Four private spaceflyers will make the trip on Galactic 06, Virgin Galactic has said. The company has not yet released their identities. It's also unclear if the mission will be livestreamed; if so, you can watch it here at Space.com, courtesy of the company.

Related: Virgin Galactic launches researchers to suborbital space on 5th commercial flight (video)

a mission patch showing a drawing of a white space plane in front of a purple five-pointed star, with the words
a mission patch showing a drawing of a white space plane in front of a purple five-pointed star, with the words

Virgin Galactic employs an air-launch system, which consists of a carrier aircraft called VMS Eve and a space plane named VSS Unity.

Eve lifts off from a runway with Unity beneath its wings and drops the spacecraft at an altitude of about 45,000 feet (13,700 meters). Unity then ignites its onboard rocket motor, powering itself to suborbital space.

Passengers aboard the space plane experience a few minutes of weightlessness and get to see Earth against the blackness of space before coming back down for a runway landing. Virgin Galactic is currently selling seats aboard the six-passenger vehicle for $400,000 apiece.

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Galactic 06 will be one of Unity's final spaceflights, if all goes according to plan; Virgin Galactic intends to ground the vehicle to focus on developing its "Delta class" of space plane.

Each Delta vehicle will be capable of flying up to twice per week, company representatives have said. The first Delta space plane is expected to start test flights next year and begin commercial operations in 2026.