Galactica

Galactica is a flying roller coaster in the Forbidden Valley at Alton Towers in Staffordshire. It stands on an 840-metre track and reaches 75 kilometres per hour. The ride was first opened as Air in 2002 and rebuilt as Galactica in 2016. Bolliger & Mabillard built the original coaster. Guests ride lying flat to feel they are flying. The track passes close to the ground and under footpaths. The ride has been praised since it opened. In 2003 it ranked 24th among steel coasters in the Golden Ticket Awards. John Wardley, a Tussauds developer, worked on the original design. The park claimed Air helped attendance in 2002 and 2003. After the 2016 re-theme, the ride briefly returned to the rankings in 2015. The flying position and close-to-ground sections make it stand out. Visitors board trains in the station and are lifted into the flying position. Each train has seven cars with four seats side by side. The ride rises up a lift hill before dropping and twisting through a space-themed portal. A 360-degree twist follows, then smaller turns and dips before the brake run. The station uses a dual-loading system on busy days. The whole cycle lasts about one minute and forty seconds.