spacetoday.net: SpaceShipTwo performs first powered flight

Posted: Tue, Apr 30, 2013, 8:14 AM ET (1214 GMT)
SpaceShipTwo first powered flight (Virgin Galactic/MarsScientific.com)

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo commercial suborbital spacecraft flew its first flight under rocket power on Monday, a brief test that sent the winged vehicle past the sound barrier. SpaceShipTwo, carried aloft by its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, separated from the plane and ignited its hybrid rocket motor for a 16-second burn about 45 minutes after a 7:02 am PDT (1402 GMT) takeoff from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The rocket burn sent SpaceShipTwo to an altitude of about 16,800 meters and a speed of Mach 1.2 before gliding to a runway landing in Mojave. The flight was the first time SpaceShipTwo had flown under rocket power, after extensive glide tests of the spacecraft and ground-based rocket engine tests. Virgin Galactic is planning a series of test flights leading up to a full-fledged suborbital spaceflight by the end of the year, with commercial service to begin next year.