Sir Richard Branson’s attempt to send tourists into orbit has taken a step forward with the second successful trial of his company’s spacecraft.
VSS Unity fired its main engine and reached a height of 114,500ft over California before landing in the Mojave desert on Tuesday afternoon. It achieved a top speed of Mach 1.9.
The spacecraft was lifted by WhiteKnightTwo, a carrier plane, to a height of 45,600ft before being released. It was the second test flight in less than two months. It is nearly four years since Virgin Atlantic’s original spacecraft, VSS Enterprise, crashed during a test in October 2014, killing its co-pilot. The aim is to send tourists into space.
Richard Branson welcomes VSS Unity h after its second supersonic flight. May 29th 2018.
NOT KNOWN REFER TO COPYRIGHT HOLDER
Sir Richard, 67, was on hand to greet the test pilots,