Private space contributes to public science- its not a billionaire joy ride

(Valerie, https://www.forbes.com/sites/valeriestimac/2021/07/11/virgin-galactics-historic-flight-wasnt-just-space-tourism/?sh=232e7816792f)

However, despite grumblings on social media about billionaires and their billion-dollar space hobbies, the Unity 22 mission was not solely focused on proving the commercial readiness of Virgin Galactic. Nor was it an excuse to finally send Branson to space after nearly two decades in business. One of the four specialists on the mission was onboard with the primary focus of conducting scientific research. Sirisha Bandla, an astronaut, who serves as vice president of government affairs and research operations at Virgin Galactic was traveling with a special goal. She wanted to evaluate the ability to conduct human-tended research aboard Virgin Galactic flights. Bandla’s experiment was supported by NASA and was conducted on behalf of a research team at the University of Florida. Co-investigators Dr. Robert Ferl and Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul were in attendance for the mission and day’s festivities at Spaceport America. Her research looks into a plant’s gene expression at different stages of flight: 1 g during ascent, just before microgravity, and at the conclusion of microgravity. The research is similar to previous studies supported by NASA on other suborbital flights; this aimed to be the first human-tended (rather than passive) research as part of the Flight Opportunities program. (For those interested, the research has its own social media: @UF_Space_Plants) “My role was to demonstrate the capability,” Bandla shared after landing. “I actuated all three of the Kennedy fixation tubes that I went up to space to do.” From the research project’s perspective, the mission was a success and Drs. Ferl and Paul will have specimens and data to study. When asked about her suggestions to improve future experiments, Bandla shared that timing (of experiment protocols) is key. “I think it’s really important to actually look out the window, and I’d work with [future] researchers to ensure that they can conduct everything they need to do an also enjoy the experience.”