Research spaceflights
Seats and payload space on Virgin Galactic flights sold to researchers who want time in weightlessness, with a person on board to run experiments if needed.
Why it matters
Suborbital research flights let scientists test ideas in weightlessness, sometimes with a human operator tending the experiment in flight.
How the technology works
Experiments ride in rack-mounted payload lockers or are tended by researchers on board during the weightless part of a suborbital flight; whole flights can also be chartered. Planned missions include a dedicated study of menstruation in microgravity and Air Force space weather sensing work.