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VSS Unity VF-01
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<h2 id="crew">Crew</h2> <table><tbody><tr><th><a href="/facts/Astronaut_ranks_and_positions/SMmsDTLu">Position</a></th><th scope="col" colspan="2">Astronaut</th></tr><tr><th scope="row">Pilot</th><td colspan="2"><a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2"></a> <a href="/facts/David_Mackay_(pilot)/LtV1SMS4">David Mackay</a>First spaceflight</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">Co-Pilot</th><td colspan="2"><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Michael_Masucci/tc29GBVm">Michael Masucci</a>First spaceflight</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">Passenger</th><td colspan="2"><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Beth_Moses/CAAkYz4n">Beth Moses</a>First spaceflight</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="flight">Flight</h2> <p>On 22 February 2019, <i>Unity's</i> <a href="/facts/Mother_ship/uSNuBK2V">mother ship</a> <a href="/facts/VMS_Eve/5FDLtaM4">VMS <i>Eve</i></a> carried it into flight in a <a href="/facts/Parasite_aircraft/33bTefjN">parasite configuration</a>. Shortly before 9 a.m., <i>Unity</i> was <a href="/facts/Drop_launch/W4YFVaqF">drop launched</a>. Pilots Mackay and Masucci flew <i>Unity</i> at a maximum <a href="/facts/Mach_number/Ee01MIgw">Mach</a> of 3.04 to a maximum altitude of over 55.9 mi (295,000 ft).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> This altitude surpassed the 50-mile limit used in the United States to denote the limit of space, but fell short of the <a href="/facts/K%25C3%25A1rm%25C3%25A1n_line/CfvQ3fbp">Kármán line</a>. Both craft landed safely afterwards. During flight, Moses unstrapped from her seat and experienced <a href="/facts/Weightlessness/GrhveURG">weightlessness</a>. Per the U.S. convention, Moses was also the first woman aboard a commercial spacecraft.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>McDowell, Jonathan (9 March 2019). "Jonathan's Space Report, No. 762". <a href="/wiki/Jonathan_McDowell" target="_blank">/wiki/Jonathan_McDowell</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Grush, Loren (22 February 2019). "Virgin Galactic spaceplane reaches space with first passenger on board". The Verge. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/22/18232354/virgin-galactic-vss-unity-spaceplane-test-spaceflight-passenger-beth-moses" target="_blank">https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/22/18232354/virgin-galactic-vss-unity-spaceplane-test-spaceflight-passenger-beth-moses</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Virgin's Unity plane rockets skyward". BBC. 22 February 2019. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47336617" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47336617</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Tribou, Richard (22 February 2019). "Virgin Galactic sends first test passenger on space flight". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190322024115/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/space/go-for-launch/os-ae-virgin-galactc-second-flight-to-space-20190222-story.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190322024115/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/space/go-for-launch/os-ae-virgin-galactc-second-flight-to-space-20190222-story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>