EARTH EXPERIENCE

Suborbital Spaceflight Training

NASTAR CENTER

Gain the academic training and hands-on experience necessary for suborbital, horizontally-launched spaceflight mimicking the Virgin Galactic suborbital flight experience.

QUICK OVERVIEW

LOCATION: Southampton, Pennsylvania, USA
DURATION: 2 Days
AVAILABILITY: Available now
REQUIRED TRAINING: None

EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTION

During your training in the STS-400 High Performance Human Centrifuge at the NASTAR Center, you’ll experience the same elevated g-forces and visuals as you would on a Virgin Galactic horizontally-launched suborbital flight. The elevated g-force experience along with academic training will adequately prepare you for this flight. Your training will progress as follows:

Day 1

- Welcome & introduction at the NASTAR Center Russell Room
- Tour of the NASTAR Center
- Suborbital spaceflight academics: learn the physical and physiological effects of accelerations and high-g exposures
- 2 vertical g-force training flights - monitored, coached, and recorded
- Lunch break
- 2 horizontal g-force training flights - monitored, coached, and recorded
- Group Q&A session and briefing for Day 2

Day 2  

- Welcome & review of Day 1
- Suborbital Spaceflight Training Profile
- 1st flight: launch, weightless period, and re-entry at 50% of Suborbital Space Launch Profile 
- 2nd flight: launch, weightless period, and re-entry at 100% of Suborbital Space Launch Profile 
- Lunch break
- Debrief, Q&A, and graduation ceremony

Note: NASTAR offers suborbital spaceflight training, orbital spaceflight training, and high altitude awareness training. You can participate in these as individual sessions or combine them for a complete experience.

OPPORTUNITIES

Sponsorship: Sponsor an individual or group experience.

CONSIDERATIONS

FAA Class 3 Medical Certificate or equivalent is required.

Trainees are expected to be in good health and capable of taking part in all activities.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Virgin Galactic doesn’t take off like a traditional spaceship. Instead, it takes off similar to like a regular airplane and reaches about 50,000 feet before it is released from the “mothership” and boosted up into space (see illustration below). This means that passengers experience different gravitational forces than they would during a vertical launch, like Blue Origin. This suborbital spaceflight training program prepares you for both horizontal and vertical g-forces.