Image: Virgin Galactic
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The test checked out, and after they killed the motor, Stucky and Alsbury guided the SS2 back for a smooth landing at the Mojave airstrip. Today, Virgin Galactic's Twitter feed followed up with another dispatch:For the 1st time ever, SS2 has lit her rocket engine in flight! A major milestone in human spaceflight. Photos, video, and details to follow
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) April 29, 2013
SpaceShipTwo broke the sound barrier. Again. Galactic's SpaceShipOne accomplished the same feat back in 2004, when it became the first private vessel to enter space. Since then, Galactic has run some 20 successful test flights, inching closer to its goal of ferrying wealthy space tourists out of the Earth's atmosphere.Meanwhile, its competition is getting stiffer—Space X just successfully delivered cargo to the International Space Station, and is getting closer to commercial flights too. Beyond orbit, things are more dubious for private space ventures—Golden Spike, the moon vacation venture, is failing to capture public interest, and there are still more questions than answers surrounding the whole Mars One debacle.But Virgin Galactic is still going full throttle. The company says it will complete its first full space flight by the end of the year.Pilots Stucky and Alsbury confirm: SpaceShipTwo exceeded the speed of sound on today’s flight! Photos, video, and details to follow
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) April 29, 2013