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Virgin Galactic’s space tourism rocket, SpaceShipTwo, has made its first solo glide flight, marking another step in the company’s plans to fly paying passengers.
SpaceShipTwo was carried to an altitude of 45,000ft by its mothership and released over the Mojave Desert.
After the separation, SpaceShipTwo, manned by two pilots, flew freely for 11 minutes before landing at an airport runway, followed by the mothership.
The entire test flight lasted about 25 minutes.
“It flew beautifully,” said Virgin Galactic chief executive George Whitesides.
The six-passenger SpaceShipTwo is undergoing rigorous testing before it can carry tourists into space. In the latest test, SpaceShipTwo did not fire its rocket engine to climb into space.
Until now, SpaceShip-Two has flown attached to the wing of its special jet-powered mothership, dubbed WhiteKnightTwo. Whitesides said SpaceShipTwo will make a series of additional glide flights before being ready to rocket into space.
The news was hailed by space tourism advocates. “The flight marks another milestone towards opening the space frontier for private individuals, researchers and explorers,” John Gedmark, executive director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said.
SpaceShipTwo, built by famed aircraft designer Burt Rutan, is based on a prototype that won the $10 million Ansari X prize in 2004 for being the first manned private rocket with the potential to reach space.
Tickets to ride aboard SpaceShipTwo cost $200,000. Some 370 customers have put down deposits totalling $50 million, according to Virgin Galactic.
Commercial flights will start from New Mexico where a spaceport is being built.
Officials from Virgin Galactic and other dignitaries will gather at the spaceport on October 22 for an event commemorating the completion of the runway.
The event will also feature a flyover by SpaceShipTwo and White-KnightTwo.
