WINGED SPACEFLIGHT – The challenges and ultimate successes of Virgin Galactic
DATE: Thursday 11 September 2025
TIME: 1900BST
VENUE: BIS London and Online
BIS member David Mackay was deeply involved in Virgin Galactic from its outset, throughout the test and development program, to its ultimately successful commercial operations. Having flown many of the early test flights of both the Mothership and the Spaceship, and lived and worked through the inevitable challenges, Mackay has a unique insight into the programme, as well as a keen sense of the importance of the whole team to success, and the crucially important role of training for Mission Control, pilots and customers. Mackay will speak of his experiences in hand-flying a rocket ship to space and back, share some of his views on the advantages of a winged space launch system, and what the future may hold for human spaceflight and space tourism.
Biography
David Mackay
David is a highly experienced test pilot and leader in both military and commercial aerospace who retired recently as Virgin Galactic VP Flight & Test Operations and Chief Pilot. In 2023, he led his flight operations team to an historic run of six consecutive monthly spaceflights, delivering safe and successful missions, on the assigned day, at the assigned time. David built a team of test pilots and flight test engineers, helped select and train the Mission Control team, achieved major changes to Spaceport America’s facilities, and was deeply involved in negotiating airspace and operating agreements with the FAA and the DoD. He is passionate about the importance of high-performance teamwork enabled through a system and working environment that allows the individual and the team to flourish in high pressure, highly dynamic roles. An Aeronautical Engineering graduate from the University of Glasgow, a graduate from the French test pilot school, and awarded the Air Force Cross for test flying, he is also a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Engineering from the University of Glasgow, and an Honorary Doctor of Technology from Robert Gordon University. David serves on multiple aerospace Advisory Boards, and is a sought after speaker.