Three-year collaboration with Space for Humanity, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to democratizing access to space. Under this agreement, Virgin Galactic plans to fly three dedicated Space for Humanity spaceflight charters, each with a six-seat cabin, for up to 18 astronauts in total. Space for Humanity may also reconfigure any flight’s cabin, replacing one or more seats with a specialized rack for research experiments. Virgin Galactic has flown research on seven suborbital spaceflights to date, including both autonomous and human-tended experiments, and this agreement extends that research capability to Space for Humanity’s missions.
Virgin Galactic and Space for Humanity share the belief that expanded spaceflight access can have a profound and transformative impact on those who go. Seeing Earth from space, with no borders in sight, can change how people see our planet and one another, deepening a sense of shared humanity and a collective responsibility to protect both.
This long-term spaceflight agreement is intended to give Space for Humanity a sustained pathway to space for its Citizen Astronauts and for participants in the recently announced Space for Humanity Labs, a program enabling opportunities for microgravity and zero gravity scientific research and innovation for a broad international community. Both programs seek out people committed to making a difference, fly them to space, and help them turn what they experience into action on Earth.
Each of the three scheduled missions is expected to feature a crew composed entirely of Space for Humanity cohorts. Space for Humanity plans to oversee the global application and selection process, as they search for a diverse group of educators, artists, scientists, and leaders. Virgin Galactic plans to provide the spaceflight readiness training at Spaceport America, with specialized pre-flight preparation delivered by Space for Humanity, culminating in the transformative journey beyond the atmosphere.
Additional details regarding timing and spaceflight participants to follow.