AIAA Statement on the Virgin Galactic Mission ‘Galactic 01’

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 29, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:

“On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate Virgin Galactic on its successful flight today of ‘Galactic 01.’ We are eager to witness the start of its commercial spaceflight service in the coming months as a major step forward in humanity’s quest to extend the human neighborhood beyond planet Earth.

Virgin Galactic is helping move us closer to the day when space travel is widely accessible to people everywhere. Their collective perseverance is admirable, reminding us of how we must accelerate innovation in space with the utmost focus on safety and our shared humanity.

We recognize the countless professionals in the aerospace industry involved in making this mission a success, from design to fabrication, to testing, to operations. We salute and applaud the Virgin Galactic team for making important contributions to shaping the future of aerospace.”

AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, RebeccaG@AIAA.org, 804-397-5270 cell

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About AIAA

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Banner Image: Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity and the Galactic01 crew prepare to take off from Spaceport America in New Mexico. | Credit: Virgin Galactic–©