spacetoday.net: SpaceShipTwo makes first flight in nearly two years

Posted: Sat, Apr 29, 2023, 11:29 AM ET (1529 GMT)
SpaceShipTwo glide flight April 2023 (Virgin Galactic)

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo flew for the first time in nearly two years Wednesday as the company edges closer to commercial service. The company's VSS Unity spaceplane was carried aloft by its VMS Eve aircraft and released in the skies above Spaceport America in New Mexico, gliding back for a runway landing in the unpowered test flight. The flight was the first for Unity since a July 2021 suborbital flight that carried company founder Richard Branson and other employees. Virgin said its next step will be to carry out a powered suborbital flight with two pilots and four company mission specialists on board as a final test before beginning commercial service, possibly before the end of the quarter.