International crew, including Turkish astronaut, complete suborbital flight

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity, carrying a six-person Galactic 07 mission team, including the second Turkish space traveler Tuva Cihangir Atasever, completed a suborbital flight by landing on Earth at 9.40 a.m. local time (1540GMT) in the US.

VMS Eve aircraft, which carried the VSS Unity, took off at around 8.30 a.m. local time (1430GMT) with a total of six crew members, also including three astronauts — two American and one Italian — and two pilots.

The flight lasted about 70 minutes, with the VSS Unity reaching an altitude of roughly 45,000 feet (over 13,700 meters) on a carrier aircraft; it then activated its hybrid propulsion system to rise to approximately 55 miles (90 kilometers).

Atasever served as a research astronaut aboard the spacecraft's final flight, designated Galactic 07.

He was responsible for seven scientific experiments under microgravity conditions.