in Aerospace

One More Orbit team take on Pole to Pole World Circumnavigation Speed Record

Posted 9 July 2019

To mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 moon landing and the 500th anniversary first global circumnavigation, Action Aviation Chairman Hamish Harding and Astronaut Terry Virts, will attempt to beat the world record for any aircraft flying over the North and South poles from 9th to 11th July 2019, supported by the One More Orbit team.


Courtesy Action Aviation


Flying a Qatar Executive Gulfstream G650ER aircraft, they will off-set their emissions by going carbon negative with the help of sponsor, Carbon Underground.
 
Who
Capt. Hamish Harding - United Kingdom, Action Aviation chairman, mission director and one of the 4 G650ER pilots; Col. Terry Virts - United States, Former International Space Station commander, Space Shuttle astronaut, Soyuz astronaut and US Air Force test pilot; Capt. Jacob Ove Bech - Denmark, Pilot; Capt. Jeremy Ascough - South Africa, Pilot; Capt. Yevgen Vasilienko - Ukraine, Pilot; Magdalena Starowicz - Poland, Flight Attendant; Col. Genaddy Padalka - Russia, Cosmonaut (International Space Station commander, Mir and Soyuz cosmonaut, record holder for the most days in space by any human - 879 days); Capt. Ian Cameron - United Kingdom, Director of the Mission Control Centre.
 
When
The One More Orbit mission launches at 09:32 on 9th July – the same time as the historic Apollo 11 flight.
 
Where
The team will launch will launch from and return to Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility (the former Shuttle Landing Facility) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, from where Apollo 11 launched its historic mission 50 years ago. They will do high speed, adrenaline pumping  “pit stops” to refuel in Kazakhstan, Mauritius and Chile.
 
Why
The mission, titled One More Orbit, pays tribute to the Apollo 11 moon landing achievement, by highlighting how humans push the boundaries of aeronautics. The record is being attempted during the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Apollo 11 moon landing and the 500th anniversary of man first circling the planet. It is a tribute to the past, present, and future of space exploration.
 
The Aircraft
The fastest ultra-long-range business jet in the world, the Gulfstream G650ER is capable of reaching Mach 0.925 and sustaining a comfortable Mach 0.90. Powered by two Rolls-Royce BR725 A1-12 Turbofans, generating 16,900 lbs of thrust, the extended range variant is capable of flying 7,500 nautical  miles (13,900 km) at up to 51,000 feet altitude. The Qatar Executive G650ER aircraft can easily fly non-stop from the Middle East to North America, or from destinations in Asia to Africa. It flies further, faster than any other jet of its kind – perfectly suited for the long legs of One More Orbit.
 
Going Carbon Negative
“The Carbon Underground is proud to be a partner of this historic mission,” said Larry Kopald, the company’s co-founder and president. “By calling attntion to one of humankind’s greatest efforts we remind ourselves of what we are capable of doing. Alleviating the existential threat of climate change by restoring the carbon balance and cycle will take a similar effort, with a similar commitment to speed.”
 
Sponsoring the mission are: Satcom Direct and inmarsat, which are providing the satellite bandwidth and live feed from the aircraft; G-Technology hard drives; Action Aviation leadership logistics; LiveU encoder; and Space Florida. Carbon Underground brings the means to make this mission carbon negative.
 
 

Other Stories
Advertisement
Latest News

SPONSORED FOCUS: BlueWhale − a true submarine force multiplier

The seventh annual REPMUS and Dynamic Messenger naval exercises, organised and led by the Portuguese Navy and NATO, were held over a three-week period in September 2023. Over two hundred representatives of security and defence

Cathay orders the A350F

Hong Kong’s Cathay has become the latest carrier to order the all-new A350F, following the signature of a purchase agreement for six aircraft.

Gatwick refines Northern Runway plan

Since submitting its Northern Runway plans to the Planning Inspectorate, London Gatwick has refined its proposal and identified three changes to reduce its environmental impact even further, while also providing additional design

Bristol Airport unveils Sustainability Strategy

Bristol Airport has published its Sustainability Strategy, with a new interim target to cut carbon emissions across its operations by 73% by 2027.

Aer Lingus launches Cabin Crew recruitment drive

Aer Lingus has launched a new recruitment drive aimed at hiring 18 Cabin Crew based in Manchester in partnership with Nobox recruitment.

Contract awarded to build 138 new homes for service families in Cyprus

A £48 million contract has been awarded to the Lagan Iacovou Joint Venture (JV) on behalf of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), to build new homes for service personnel and their families at Dhekelia Station in

ODU SK0104300422
See us at
Space Comm Expo BTDVD BT