SpaceShipTwo reaches edge of space on latest test flight
Posted: Sun, Dec 16, 2018, 12:38 PM ET (1738 GMT)
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo flew to the edge of space for the first time Thursday. The vehicle, named VSS Unity, took off Thursday morning from Mojave Air and Space Port attached to its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft. At 11 a.m. Eastern, SpaceShipTwo separated from WhiteKnightTwo and fired its hybrid rocket motor for 60 seconds. The vehicle reached a peak altitude of nearly 83 kilometers and top speed of Mach 2.9 before gliding back to Mojave. Virgin Galactic declared the flight a success and called it its first space flight, noting that it exceeded the altitude of 50 miles used by U.S. government agencies to award astronaut wings even though it did not reach the 100-kilometer Karman Line. Besides testing the performance of the vehicle, SpaceShipTwo carried for experiments for NASA's Flight Opportunities program.
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo flew to the edge of space for the first time Thursday. The vehicle, named VSS Unity, took off Thursday morning from Mojave Air and Space Port attached to its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft. At 11 a.m. Eastern, SpaceShipTwo separated from WhiteKnightTwo and fired its hybrid rocket motor for 60 seconds. The vehicle reached a peak altitude of nearly 83 kilometers and top speed of Mach 2.9 before gliding back to Mojave. Virgin Galactic declared the flight a success and called it its first space flight, noting that it exceeded the altitude of 50 miles used by U.S. government agencies to award astronaut wings even though it did not reach the 100-kilometer Karman Line. Besides testing the performance of the vehicle, SpaceShipTwo carried for experiments for NASA's Flight Opportunities program.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Blue Origin announces new upper stage and engine for New Glenn
Posted: Sat, Nov 7 12:07 PM ET (1707 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, November 15
SpaceX Starship nails historic ship catch in unprecedented test flight
CNN — 2:58 am ET (0758 GMT) ULA delays Vulcan launch again awaiting chance to help Amazon play catchup to SpaceX
Orlando Sentinel — 2:56 am ET (0756 GMT) Sunil Mittal calls for India to control satellite 'kill switch'
Business Upturn (India) — 2:54 am ET (0754 GMT) Sunil Mittal says India must hold satellite “kill switch” and control “space destiny”
PTI — 2:53 am ET (0753 GMT) Senate appropriators resuscitate Commerce space tracking program
Breaking Defense — 2:53 am ET (0753 GMT) |
