Posted: Fri, Aug 20 6:43 AM ET (1043 GMT)
WhiteKnightTwo (WK2), the carrier aircraft for Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo (SS2) suborbital spacecraft, had part of its landing gear collapse upon landing after a test flight Thursday. The left main landing gear on the twin-hulled aircraft collapsed when it landed at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California Thursday morning. The aircraft was completing its 37th test flight; SpaceShipTwo was not attached to WK2 on that flight. Scaled Composites, which is building WK2 and SS2 for Virgin, described the problem as a "minor incident" with no injuries. An FAA spokesman told the AP that while the landing gear was damaged, it was not yet clear if the aircraft sustained any other damage.

Related Links:

•  AP article
•  Scaled Composites statement

Posted: Tue, Mar 23 7:06 AM ET (1106 GMT)
SpaceShipTwo, the commercial suborbital vehicle under development for Virgin Galactic, left the ground for the first time on Monday attached to its carrier aircraft. SpaceShipTwo remained attached to the WhiteKnightTwo plane for its nearly three-hour flight from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, going to an altitude of over 13,700 meters (45,000 feet). The flight is the first in a series of "captive carry" flights for SpaceShipTwo expected to last several months before progressing to glide tests, where SpaceShipTwo is released at altitude and glides back to earth. Powered test flights will begin by late this year, company officials previously stated, and extend through much of 2011.

Related Links:

•  Flightglobal.com article
•  SPACE.com article
•  Reuters article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  Virgin Galactic announcement

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