Virgin Galactic performs first powered flight of second SpaceShipTwo
Posted: Sun, Apr 8, 2018, 9:36 AM ET (1336 GMT)
Virgin Galactic's second SpaceShipTwo made its first powered flight Thursday. The vehicle, named VSS Unity, was released from its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft at about 12 pm EDT (1600 GMT) and fired its hybrid rocket motor for 30 seconds. The vehicle reached a peak altitude of more than 25,000 meters and a top speed of Mach 1.87 on the flight before safely landing at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The flight was the first powered flight test of SpaceShipTwo since a fatal crash of the first vehicle, VSS Enterprise, in October 2014. The company is planning an unspecified number of powered test flights this year in preparation for commercial operations. "Space feels tantalizingly close now," Virgin founder Richard Branson tweeted shortly after the flight.
Virgin Galactic's second SpaceShipTwo made its first powered flight Thursday. The vehicle, named VSS Unity, was released from its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft at about 12 pm EDT (1600 GMT) and fired its hybrid rocket motor for 30 seconds. The vehicle reached a peak altitude of more than 25,000 meters and a top speed of Mach 1.87 on the flight before safely landing at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The flight was the first powered flight test of SpaceShipTwo since a fatal crash of the first vehicle, VSS Enterprise, in October 2014. The company is planning an unspecified number of powered test flights this year in preparation for commercial operations. "Space feels tantalizingly close now," Virgin founder Richard Branson tweeted shortly after the flight.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, January 19
Proba-3: our eyes on the Sun’s inner corona
ESA — 6:10 am ET (1110 GMT) SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 rocket into low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral
WESH-TV Orlando — 6:07 am ET (1107 GMT) Small businesses in Higashiosaka launch crowdfunding campaign for lunar exploration robot
Independent Online — 6:06 am ET (1106 GMT) Polish Lawmakers Request Military to Establish Suborbital Spaceport
Militarnyi — 6:03 am ET (1103 GMT) ISRO was set to move on to a new era. PSLV failure has stalled India’s space policy
ThePrint (India) — 6:00 am ET (1100 GMT) |
