09 April, 2018
Virgin Galactic completes first rocket-powered test flight of VSS UNITY spaceship
Virgin Galactic´s new spaceship VSS Unity has successfully completed her first supersonic, rocket-powered test flight on 5 April, 2018. The flight was the first powered test flight by the VSS Unity spaceship, built after the crash of Virgin Galactic’s first SpaceShipTwo vehicle, which killed co-pilot Michael Alsbury and injured lead pilot Peter Siebold after an in-flight breakup 10 miles above California’s Mojave Desert on Oct. 31, 2014. After several years of rebuilding and testing the new vehicle this is a major milestone for the program. The drop occurred about an hour after the VMS Eve mothership took off from Mojave Air and Spaceport in Mojave, California. The carrier jet, piloted by Mike Masucci and Nicola Pecile, climbed to an altitude of around 46,500 feet (about 14,200 meters) over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After turning on a course back toward Mojave, the VMS Eve released the VSS Unity spaceship, and the spaceplane fired its rocket motor a few seconds later. VSS Unity accelerated to Mach 1.87 during the 30 seconds of rocket burn. Burning a mixture of rubber-based solid fuel — called HTPB — and nitrous oxide, the rear-mounted rocket engine propelled SpaceShipTwo to nearly twice the speed of sound as the pilots maneuvered the craft on an 80-degree climb.
Being one of Virging Galactic´s Pioneer Astronauts VSS Unity is the spaceship which Michael will enter in the near future performing his own spaceflight to become the first artist in space.
© fotos: VG Galactic / MarsScientific.com
watch the official VG video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVETvuGsv-w&t=208s
24 June, 2024
Exhibition at Kunsthalle Bahnitz
27 May, 2024
flashback: UKE Hamburg
21 May, 2024
new artwork "netropolis | shenzhen | 2024"
22 April, 2024
Interview with Space Ambition
08 April, 2024
new artwork "CDF-X"
18 March, 2024
Exhibition JUT Art Museum, Taipei
08 March, 2024
new artwork "fusion power"
05 March, 2024
ARCO Madrid
29 February, 2024
Exhibition "A Constant State of Transformation", Melbourne
15 January, 2024
Podcast "FotoPsychoLogisch"
29 November, 2023
Symposium "Enter the Future"
29 November, 2023
Exhibition at Caixa Forum, Madrid
28 November, 2023
Exhibition at ArtScience Museum, Singapore
15 November, 2023
"orbital ascent" special edition
10 November, 2023
Exhibition at BANK Gallery, Shanghai
23 October, 2023
Podcast "Fotografie neu denken"
10 October, 2023
Michael shoots at ITER Fusion Ractor in France
27 September, 2023
Nanjing Artfair, China
21 September, 2023
Wired UK magazine
07 September, 2023
Ars Electronica Festival - Who owns the truth?
03 June, 2023
Final test flight of Spaceship Unity
02 June, 2023
Civilization exhibition at Saatchi Gallery, London
19 April, 2023
Michael at the Starbase
28 February, 2023
new artwork "starbase II"
10 January, 2023
ART SG Singapore
12 December, 2022
"cool earth" exhibition at Studio la Città Gallery
11 November, 2022
Screening at COP27
12 October, 2022
Lecture at Deutsche Museum München
17 September, 2022
CIVILIZATION exhibition at Museo San Domenico
02 September, 2022
Frieze Seoul
08 June, 2022
Arctic expedition
04 June, 2022
Galería Juan Silió presents "cool earth" exhibition
29 May, 2022
New series "cool earth"
04 May, 2022
New Artwork "starbase"
30 March, 2022
mission:space re-edited version
06 January, 2022
new artwork "down to earth"
06 December, 2021
Michael visits STARBASE
09 September, 2021
New book "outer space v2"
07 September, 2021
Exhibition at Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
12 July, 2021
Historic Spaceflight of VSS Unity
22 June, 2021
"Overview Effect" exhibition at Museum for Contemporary Art, Belgrade
18 May, 2021
Solo Exhibition "outer space" in Beijing
14 April, 2021
National Air and Space Museum aquires 3 artworks for permanent collection
22 January, 2021
New publication "Space is the Place - Current Reflections on Art and Architecture"
05 December, 2020
"outer space | portfolio box 2020" is now available
07 October, 2020
"New Classics of Mountains and Seas" Exhibition at Zhejiang Museum, China
05 October, 2020
"FUTURO" exhibition at Galleri d'Italia, Vincenza
12 September, 2020
"Space Works" exhibition at Tampere Art Museum, Finland
10 August, 2020
"CIVILIZATION" at Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand
05 August, 2020
new artwork "crew dragon"
12 July, 2020
Large scale mural "lunar explorers"
06 May, 2020
skype interview with curator Benjamin Weil
23 April, 2020
new artwork "ascension"
06 February, 2020
"terraforming" video on view at Studio National des Arts Contemporains
01 February, 2020
VSS Unity spaceship transferred to Spaceport America
12 December, 2019
new artwork "space renaissance"
19 November, 2019
Video interview on "outer space"
20 October, 2019
"Beyond the Horizon" - exhibition at Wittenstein Innovation Factory
25 September, 2019
"outer space" exhibition opens in Shanghai
12 August, 2019
"terraforming" exhibition at Galería Juan Silio, Spain
21 June, 2019
New artwork "lunar explorers"
08 June, 2019
Photo shooting at CERN
22 May, 2019
new artwork "ignition"
18 May, 2019
"intergalactic" exhibition at BNKR in Munich
12 April, 2019
SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch
08 April, 2019
Shooting of Soyuz rocket launch in French Guiana
12 March, 2019
CIVILIZATION exhibition opened at the UCCA Beijing
08 February, 2019
Lecture at the European Space Research and Technology Center
30 January, 2019
A Bright Future - New Scientist magazine publicates the artwork "synlight"
14 December, 2018
VSS Unity - Welcome to Space !
30 October, 2018
Opening of the epic landmark exhibition „CIVILIZATION“ at Museum MCA, Seoul, South Korea
10 September, 2018
Shooting at European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC)
26 June, 2018
New artwork "orbital outpost"
20 June, 2018
Exhibition at Bank/MABSociety Gallery in Shanghai
26 February, 2018
Michael takes pictures in an active volcano in New Zealand
11 January, 2018
New book publication „Planetary Echoes - Exploring the Implications of Human Settlement in Outer Space
05 January, 2018
Michael portrays the world´s biggest artificial sun
20 November, 2017
Michael participates in the exhibition “Rivoluzione Galileo. L’arte incontra la scienza”
02 October, 2017
Michael took pictures of the world´s largest telescope in China
20 September, 2017
Michael´s work now on view at the 7th Moscow Biennale 2017
25 July, 2017
Michael participates at the 7th Moscow Biennale 2017
23 June, 2017
michael najjar signs contract for cosmonaut training at yuri gagarin cosmonaut training center
07 May, 2017
Panel discussion on occasion of the exhibition “Planetary Echoes“
24 April, 2017
Video trailer of the exhibition opening "Planetary Echoes“
19 April, 2017
Alfred Ehrhardt Foundation Berlin presents Michael´s new solo exhibition "Planetary Echoes“.
22 March, 2017
UK Business Traveller Magazine features “Space Suite“ on the cover
13 February, 2017
Photo- and video shooting in Iceland
12 January, 2017
Michael portrays future Mars robot „Valkyrie“ at Edinburgh Centre for Robotics
19 November, 2016
Michael takes pictures of Arianespace VA233 milestone mission
12 October, 2016
Michael Najjar is one of the few Hasselblad Ambassadors worldwide.
05 October, 2016
Exhibition at Reggio Emilia / Palazzo da Mosta
22 September, 2016
Michael visits the new SpaceShipTwo at SpaceShipCompany in the Mojave desert.
12 September, 2016
„Space Suite“ shortlisted for European Hotel Award
25 July, 2016
Michael Najjar photographs the Vulcain 2 rocket engine in France
02 June, 2016
“space garden“ at museum Marta Herford
01 April, 2016
„outer space“ exhibition opens in New York
11 March, 2016
VA229 Mission successful launched into space
20 February, 2016
Virgin Galactic unveils new spaceship 16 months after fatal crash
17 February, 2016
Michael has arrived at Guiana Space Center
13 November, 2015
Michael inaugurates solo exhibition „outer space“ at Kunstverein Oldenburg, Germany
31 October, 2015
Exo-Evolution Exhibition at ZKM Museum, Karlsruhe
13 October, 2015
Michael took pictures at :envihab - Future Research Center for Space and Earth
07 October, 2015
Michael opens the world´s first Space Suite in Zurich
24 September, 2015
Studio La Città presents Michael´s solo show "outer space“
21 September, 2015
Michael completed basic suborbital space training program at NASTAR
08 September, 2015
Michael Najjar – one of the first test persons to perform jump and vibration training on the next generation DLR centrifuge
08 July, 2015
Solo exhibition at Museo Es Baluard, Palma, Spain
08 June, 2015
WIRED MAGAZINE features a large online article by Alyssa Coppelman on Michael Najjar´s "outer space" series.
05 June, 2015
Exhibition at Galería Juan Silió, Santander, Spain
01 June, 2015
New artwork related to the SpaceshipTwo Crash
10 May, 2015
New artwork „oscillating universe“
17 April, 2015
Article in The Wall Street Journal
15 January, 2015
MISSION:SPACE - Documentary Film Preview
12 January, 2015
Michael Najjar exhibits at Peter Kilchmann Gallery, Zurich
12 December, 2014
Michael participates at Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India
06 November, 2014
"Michael Najjar - outer space book published - Introduction essay by Buzz Aldrin
31 October, 2014
SpaceshipTwo crashes during testflight
15 October, 2014
"outer space" presented in Parabol Art Magazine Curated issue by Peter Weibel (Director ZKM)
04 October, 2014
Michael photographs the Eden Project
30 September, 2014
HALO Jump - video documentation
02 September, 2014
Michael´s work featured in ELEFANT Art Magazine
09 July, 2014
Michael is the first artist ever to perform a HALO Jump from an altitude of 10,000 m / 32,800 ft
22 June, 2014
Michael took pictures at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
03 May, 2014
DISTANZ to publish Michael Najjar's "outer space"
02 April, 2014
First presentation of "outer space" in Berlin
24 March, 2014
German TV Arts Programm "titel thesen temperamente" shows a portrait of Michael Najjar
10 March, 2014
Article + interview in "uncube" magazine
31 January, 2014
Article in Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin
20 January, 2014
Arte TV features Michael´s working at ALMA
08 January, 2014
Article in Greenpeace Magazine, Germany
25 November, 2013
Michael has done a photoshooting at the Atacama desert
20 October, 2013
Michael returns to Star City for Cosmonaut Training
08 October, 2013
Michael photographs at JPL cleanroom
04 July, 2013
Michael visits Mojave Air and Space Port
07 May, 2013
michael takes a dose of centrifugal training
07 May, 2013
michael takes a dose of centrifugal training
20 February, 2013
"spacewalk" - first video work from the series
22 January, 2013
michael najjar starts collaboration with hasselblad
16 December, 2012
michael najjar completes first phase of cosmonaut training
09 September, 2012
michael najjar photographs "short arm centrifuge (sahc)" at the german aerospace center.
18 July, 2012
michael najjar photographs the james webb space telescope
04 April, 2012
michael at tedxkiruna conference, sweden
28 February, 2012
norman foster watches the new work
23 February, 2012
article on wallpaper magazine
13 February, 2012
first work from the new series
05 November, 2011
"first artist in space" - interview on artnet
24 October, 2011
michael najjar meets richard branson
20 September, 2011
historic final mission
15 September, 2011
new series "outer space"
