Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. announced a 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.
“Our mission has always been to expand spaceflight access across the globe and transform how we view our place in the universe,” said Megan Prichard, Chief Growth Officer, Virgin Galactic. “Space for Humanity shares this vision and our passion. Three missions over three years is a real opportunity for transformation and impact. Virgin Galactic is proud to be building a reliable, repeatable pathway for these incredible spaceflight journeys.”
“This is a historic announcement because as Virgin Galactic returns to space, so does Space for Humanity. We’re reigniting our well-established Citizen Astronaut Program on a scale larger than ever before, launching our newly-forming Space for Humanity Labs, and evolving our mission into the world’s Citizen Space Agency,” said Executive Director of Space for Humanity, Antonio Peronace. “We don’t go to space just for the sake of the journey. We go to space because of its ability to transform perspectives, spur innovation, and enable exploration and new discoveries, all of which can shift global viewpoints and help humanity solve its most intractable problems here on Earth. Working with Virgin Galactic, we’re about to create more astronauts, facilitate more space research and, in turn, inspire even more people around the world to reach for the stars.”
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.