Knowing Space has always been one of man’s dreams. And theItaly will be the protagonist in the discovery of the secrets of the sky: three Italians are preparing to face 12 experiments in suborbital flight. The mission – the first in Europe – born from the collaboration between Air Force and National Research Council, will be hosted on the flight Unity 23 of the SpaceShip 2 and on the space plane of the Virgin Galactic hitherto used only for the purposes of space tourism. There is, however, a question mark on the mission because a few hours after the Italian announcement, the American federal authorities have said that they will not allow Virgin Galactic to fly, pending the investigation into a flight accident in July.
Citing the Federal Administration Aviation, US media reports that the Virgin Galactic flight had deviated from its intended trajectory in July and the authorities intend to clarify why. The times of the Italian mission could therefore lengthen, so far scheduled for the end of September, the first with experiments hosted on board a Virgin Galactic space plane and also the first of a European crew.
The crew of Virtue-1 (Italian flight for research and suborbital technology) is trained by the colonel Walter Villadei, in command, by the lieutenant colonel Angelo Landolfi, aerospace medicine expert, both of the Italian Air Force, and by the engineer Pantaleone Carlucci, of the CNR, with research experience aboard aerial platforms. A smart suit studded with sensors, light but capable of resisting the elements, nerve cells that become very special guinea pigs and shape memory foams. They look like images taken from a science fiction novel, but they will be some of the elements at the center of the Italian mission’s research.
“It is the first step in a path of growth”, said the Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, General of the Air Squad Alberto Rosso, in the presentation of the mission together with the president of the CNR Maria Chiara Carrozza. One of the objectives will be “to exploit, also for commercial purposes, vehicles that fly at very high altitudes and which they could guarantee 1,5 ore for connections that now require at least ten ”, he added, also referring to the project of the first Italian spaceport at the Grottaglie site (Taranto). The mission logo commemorates the United States, pioneers in the space field, 60 years after the first suborbital flight of the American capsule Mercury. “It’s a new phase of space, which opens up new opportunities for the space economy,” he said Carriage. “I would have left right away too,” he admitted jokingly.
The earliest launch date could be September 25th. From there, three useful weeks are expected, but as always happens the time window is destined to narrow with the approach of the launch date, explained Villadei. The flight will depart from Spaceport America, the world’s first commercial operational spaceport, located in New Mexico (United States). The overall duration will be approximately 4 hours. But the weightless period – necessary to carry out the experiments – will be about just 3 minutes. The space plane will reach an altitude of about 90 kilometers and then land at the starting point.
“It is a privilege to face a mission like this,” said Villadei again. “It is a new frontier that we face as a team. I will be commander of the mission – he added – and this is a great honor for me ”. Landolfi, who in Roberto Vittori’s Eneide mission had been among the doctors on board, is “happy to have a medical vision in several fields: he helped me to make the most of this opportunity”. For Carlucci the Virtute-1 mission “is a dream come true”
–
