Contrary to other privately funded space flights, the VSS Unity’s Galactic 01 flight is a science-oriented mission funded by the Italian Government, and mostly manned by an Italian crew. The country even has a different name for the mission and calls it the “Virtute 1.” The crew for this mission includes members from the Italian Air Force and the country’s National Research Council.
Leading the three-member Italian crew for this mission is Col. Walter Villadei — who serves as the mission commander. Col Walter is using this mission as a training exercise for a future mission to the International Space Station, and is also the person who will be wearing a custom-built suit for the research set to be carried out on this mission.
The second crew member is Lt. Col. Angelo Landolfi, a doctor by profession and has a doctorate in Legal Medicine and Forensic science. Pantaleone Carlucci, an engineer at the National Research Council of Italy, will join the duo as well.
Besides the three Italians, Galactic 01 also includes a fourth member — Colin Bennett — who will be the lead astronaut instructor. Colin was also a crew member of the famous VSS 1 flight with Richard Branson in 2021. While Virgin Galactic encountered some issues leading up to its first-ever commercial spaceflight, there is no denying this is an exciting development in space tourism.
For those interested in tracking the mission, Virgin Galactic will live stream the launch via its website starting 11 a.m. ET on June 29.
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