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Virgin GalacticSpaceShipTwoMojave Air and Space Port, Air launch to Suborbital flight
VSS Enterprise GF09
Launched
May 19, 2011
Summary
GF09 launched on a Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo from Mojave Air and Space Port, Air launch to Suborbital flight on May 19, 2011. It was Virgin Galactic's 9th launch and 6th this year. It was the 9th SpaceShipTwo flight and the 6th this year. The payload was bound for Suborbital (Sub). 2 crew members flew: Peter Siebold and William Brian Binnie. The spacecraft was VSS Enterprise (N339SS).
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- SpaceShipTwo · Virgin Galactic
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Test Flight · Suborbital (Sub)
- Milestone
- 9th SpaceShipTwo flight · 6th this yearVirgin Galactic's 9th launch6th this year
Crew
Peter SieboldPilot · VG · age 40 · 5th flight
William Brian BinniePilot · VG · age 58 · first flight
Spacecraft
VSS Enterprise (N339SS)
VSS Enterprise was the first SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spaceplane, built by Scaled Composites for Virgin Galactic. As of 2004, it was planned to be the first of five commercial suborbital SS2 spacecraft planned by Virgin Galactic. Enterprise was destroyed during a powered test flight on 31 October 2014, killing one pilot, Michael Alsbury, and seriously injuring another, Peter Siebold. An investigation revealed the accident was caused by premature deployment of the "feathering" system, the ship's descent device; the NTSB also faulted the spacecraft's design for lacking fail-safe mechanisms that could have deterred or prevented early deployment.
- Destination: Suborbital
- Mission length: under an hour
VSS Enterprise successfully landed back at the Mojave Air and Space Port after this flight.
Flight preview
About this launch
Free glide test flight of VSS Enterprise.
Pad
Mojave Air and Space Port, Air launch to Suborbital flight
9th launch from Mojave Air and Space Port, 6th this year · 28th from Air launch to Suborbital flight
53 launches from this pad · 86 from Air launch to Suborbital flight
9 days after the previous launch from this pad
All launches from Air launch to Suborbital flightOpen in maps
Questions
When did GF09 launch?
GF09 launched on May 19, 2011. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch GF09?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched GF09?
SpaceShipTwo, flown by Virgin Galactic. SpaceShipTwo spec sheet
Where did GF09 launch from?
Mojave Air and Space Port, Air launch to Suborbital flight.
What orbit was GF09 going to?
Suborbital (Sub), a test flight mission.