INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Virgin Galactic is celebrating a successful second test flight of SpaceShipTwo, the rocket-powered passenger spacecraft that may someday
take tourists to the edge of space
Today test took the VSS Unity, the second craft built in this class, up to 114,500 feet and Mach 1.9, or nearly 1,300 miles per hour.
Unity
first powered flight was less than two months ago, which was itself the first powered flight Virgin Galactic had attempted since the fatal
breakup of the company previous SpaceShipTwo-class spacecraft, Enterprise, in 2014.
Much has been redone since then, but the basics of the
Virgin Galactic flight style are the same
A relatively traditional jet-powered plane, a WhiteKnightTwo class plane (in this case the VMS Eve), carries the SpaceShipTwo craft (Unity)
up to somewhere around 45,000 feet
There the latter detaches and fires up its rocket engine, accelerating to high speed and high altitude, after which it glides to the surface
and lands more or less like any other plane.
Today test flight followed these parameters to the letter, though the numbers were considerably
The rockets burned for 31 seconds total, and the craft unique &feather& system for slowing its descent was deployed successfully.
The Unity
is designed to handle nearly twice the speeds achieved today, but these tolerances must of course be approached gradually and the various
systems tested under friendly conditions before moving on to hostile ones.
&It was great to see our beautiful spaceship back in the air and
to share the moment with the talented team who are taking us, step by step, to space,& said Virgin founder Richard Branson in a press
&Seeing Unity soar upwards at supersonic speeds is inspiring and absolutely breathtaking
We are getting ever closer to realizing our goals
Congratulations to the whole team!&
I&ve asked the company for a few more details on the flight, as well as when we can expect a third
