Unity 22's Success To Outer Space: Richard Branson: The Complete Experience Of A Lifetime!

Richard Branson, gets a special gift of flying into space, ahead of his 71st Anniversary (photo; screenshot)

JAKARTA – After being delayed for 90 minutes due to unfavorable weather, the Unity 22 mission with its rocket launched into space at 10.30 EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) or 21.30 WIB, on Sunday, July 11. The mission carried six people, two pilots, and four crew including Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Galactic, from Spaceport America, in True City, New Mexico.

VSS Unity separated from the carrier 10 minutes after flying and then started its engines which fired the spacecraft uphill straight into space. Unity 22 needs to reach more than three times the speed of sound to get to space.

After being released from its booster rocket, the craft only took two minutes to reach outer space at an altitude of 280 thousand feet, or about 85 thousand meters from the earth. The aircraft is capable of reaching its maximum speed of Mach 3.1 which is equivalent to 2181 miles/hour (3509 km/h) or three times the speed of sound in just 1 minute!

After reaching space, the craft continued at a constant speed of Mach 1.2 for several minutes. Even while in space, Branson and the crew, unbuckled their seatbelts and felt the sensation of being in a state of weightlessness for a few minutes.

This has been one of Sir Richard Branson's dreams for decades. Branson, in remarks from the Virgin Galactic flight on Sunday, said spaceflight was extraordinary.

"The complete experience of a lifetime," shortly after the spacecraft successfully took off over New Mexico.

"Now I'm looking down at a beautiful spaceport," said Branson, who flew with two pilots and three Virgin Galactic employees. "Congratulations to everyone for creating such a beautiful and beautiful place," said the billionaire, who will celebrate his 71st birthday on July 18.

After being in space for about 4 minutes, Unity 22 began to fly down and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. In total, it took only about 3 minutes for Branson to experience weightlessness in space!

Congratulations @virgingalactic on another successful mission! #Unity22 #space pic.twitter.com/iPHXiYhEJF

— Tim Peake (@astro_timpeake) July 11, 2021

From the time it was released by the rocket, until it landed again, it only took 14 minutes. VSS Unity itself landed on Spaceport America's runway in New Mexico, at 11:55 a.m. EDT, or for just 90 minutes. The spacecraft returned to launch and completed the company's fourth space flight to date.

Congratulations to the whole team @virgingalactic - well done! #Unity22 pic.twitter.com/Wb0cZrQZn9

— Garrett Reisman (@astro_g_dogg) July 11, 2021

Furthermore, congratulatory uploads from astronauts and various parties appeared on social media such as Twitter for this success. Congratulations to Virgin Galactic appeared on social media after the flight landed, for example from NASA officials to astronauts.