Virgin Galactic Completes Fifth Successful Human Spaceflight in Five Months

Rhea-AI Summary

Virgin Galactic completes its fifth successful human space mission in five months.

‘Galactic 04’ mission further demonstrates repeatable spaceflight

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (“Virgin Galactic” or the “Company”) today announced the completion of its fifth successful human space mission in five months, ‘Galactic 04’.

Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said: “Our teams in New Mexico and California have delivered on our monthly spaceflight objectives. Three new astronauts journeyed to space today and brought back incredible memories and stories of their experience above the Earth. These early missions with our initial ship, VSS Unity, have informed and confirmed the design and maintenance objectives for our Delta class spaceships, and the production tooling for those ships is on track to commence later in the fourth quarter”.

Onboard ‘Galactic 04’:

• Astronaut 017 Ron Rosano from the United States of America.
• Astronaut 018 Trevor Beattie from the United Kingdom.
• Astronaut 019 Namira Salim from Pakistan, marking the first person to fly to space from that country. Salim is also a resident of the United Arab Emirates and of Monaco.

VSS Unity was piloted by Commander Kelly Latimer and Pilot CJ Sturckow, with Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses on board. VMS Eve was piloted by Commander Nicola Pecile and Pilot Jameel Janjua.

The Company will now proceed with post-flight inspections and analysis in preparation for the next commercial space mission, ‘Galactic 05’.

‘Galactic 04’ in-flight facts:

• Take-off Time: 9:28 AM MT
• Altitude at Release: 44,341 feet
• Apogee: 54 miles
• Top Speed: Mach 2.95
• Landing Time: 10:25 AM MT

Press materials may be accessed via the newly launched Virgin Galactic Newsroom at https://press.virgingalactic.com, including:

• Full catalog of hi-res imagery and b-roll from all flights
• Pilot bios
• You can access astronaut bios here: https://www.virgingalactic.com/virgin-galactic-astronauts

About Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic is an aerospace and space travel company, pioneering human spaceflight for private individuals and researchers with its advanced air and space vehicles. It has developed a spaceflight system designed to connect the world to the love, wonder and awe created by space travel and to offer customers a transformative experience. You can find more information at https://www.virgingalactic.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding expected flight schedule and window, repeatable access to space, consistency and reliability of our spaceflight systems, ongoing investment in future fleet, creation of production spaceships capable of flying weekly and future crew information are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “target,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of our website at www.virgingalactic.com, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231006440444/en/

For media inquiries:

Aleanna Crane – Vice President, Communications

news@virgingalactic.com

575.800.4422



Jeff Michael – Communications

news@virgingalactic.com

661.754.4300



For investor inquiries:

Eric Cerny – Vice President, Investor Relations

vg-ir@virgingalactic.com

949.774.7637

Source: Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc.

FAQ

What is the latest achievement of Virgin Galactic?

Virgin Galactic has completed its fifth successful human space mission in five months.

Who were the astronauts on 'Galactic 04' mission?

The astronauts on 'Galactic 04' mission were Ron Rosano, Trevor Beattie, and Namira Salim.

What are the in-flight facts of 'Galactic 04' mission?

The take-off time was 9:28 AM MT, altitude at release was 44,341 feet, apogee was 54 miles, top speed was Mach 2.95, and landing time was 10:25 AM MT.

What is the next commercial space mission for Virgin Galactic?

The next commercial space mission for Virgin Galactic is 'Galactic 05'.