|
 With Virgin Galactic chief pilot David Mackay and co-pilot Mark
Stucky at the controls, SpaceShipTwo soared to an altitude 71,000
feet above ground — about twice as high as commercial jetliners,
Virgin Galactic said on Twitter.
The 20-second rocket burn, over California's Mojave desert,
propelled the ship to 1.4 times faster than the speed of sound, the
company said.
It was the third powered test flight for SpaceShipTwo, which was
designed and built by Mojave, Calif.-based Scaled Composites, a
subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corp.
"She flew brilliantly," Mackay said in a statement from Virgin
Galactic after landing.
"To be behind the controls and fly it as the rocket ignited is
something I will never forget," Mackay added.
The spacecraft, which is hauled into the air by a carrier jet and
released, also has made 28 glide flights. It is modeled after the
prize-winning SpaceShipOne prototype, which made a trio of
suborbital spaceflights in 2004 to clinch the $10 million Ansari X
Prize for the first privately funded human spaceflights.
With SpaceShipTwo tucked between its twin hulls, Virgin Galactic's
White Knight Two carrier jet took off from the Mojave Air and Space
Port just after dawn. An hour later, Mackay landed the spaceship
safely back on the runway, Virgin Galactic said on Twitter.
Virgin Galactic, a U.S. offshoot of billionaire Richard Branson's
London-based Virgin Group, is selling rides on SpaceShipTwo for
$250,000. So far, more than 650 people have put down deposits or
paid for rides. Branson and his two children are expected to fly on
the first passenger flight late this year.
[to top of second column] |
"I couldn't be happier to start the New Year with all the pieces
visibly in place for the start of full space flights. 2014 will be
the year when we will finally put our beautiful spaceship in her
natural environment of space," Branson said in a statement.
The upcoming flights are designed to reach altitudes of more than 65
miles above Earth, high enough to see the curvature of the planet
set against the blackness of space. Riders also will experience a
few minutes of weightlessness before the ship re-enters the
atmosphere.
SpaceShipTwo's last rocket-powered flight was in September, part of
a rigorous test program prior to the start of commercial flight
services.
Other companies developing passenger suborbital spacecraft include
privately owned XCOR Aerospace, which is building a two-person
spaceplane called Lynx, and Blue Origin, a startup space company
owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Virgin Galactic also plans to use its White Knight Two carrier jets
to launch small satellites and payloads into orbit.
(Editing by Andrew Hay)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
