Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo space plane rockets through the stratosphere at 71,000 feet, its highest flight yet, during its third powered test flight on Jan. 10, 2014. The supersonic flight occurred over California's Mojave Air and Space Port. Virgin Galactic<\/p>\n
A stunning new video lets viewers ride along on last-week's record-breaking test flight of Virgin Galactic's suborbital spaceliner SpaceShipTwo. <\/p>\n
The newSpaceShipTwo rocket-powered test flight videodocuments the piloted vehicle's jaunt on Jan. 10, which set a company altitude record by reaching 71,000 feet (21,641 meters) in the skies aboveCalifornia'sMojave Air and Space Port. <\/p>\n
SpaceShipTwoalso attained a top speed of Mach 1.4 1.4 times the speed of sound, which is roughly 761 mph (1,225 km\/h) at sea level during the test, Virgin Galactic officials said. <\/p>\n
The 2.5-minute video, which Virgin Galactic released earlier this week, captures highlights of theJan. 10 supersonic flight, beginning with a pre-dawn inspection of SpaceShipTwo on the tarmac. It then shows the spaceliner being lofted off the runway by its carrier aircraft, a behemoth known as WhiteKnightTwo. <\/p>\n
WhiteKnightTwo is designed to drop SpaceShipTwo at an altitude of roughly 50,000 feet (15,240 m), at which point the spacecraft's rocket engine blasts into action. The video captures this dramatic moment from several different angles, incorporating footage shot from the ground and from cameras mounted on WhiteKnightTwo. <\/p>\n
WhiteKnightTwo's cameras, in fact, show SpaceShipTwo dropping toward the parched desert below before the craft's engine kicks on, shooting a tail of flame behind the spaceliner and sending it streaking past and above its carrier plane. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Virgin Galactic remains on pace to launch its first customers to suborbital space sometime this year, company officials say. Tickets to ride the spaceliner cost $250,000, and more than 600 people have put deposits down to reserve a seat so far, including major celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber. <\/p>\n
A ride aboard SpaceShipTwo will let passengers experience a few minutes of weightlessness and afford them a view of Earth against the blackness of space. <\/p>\n
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See Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo space plane go supersonic<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo space plane rockets through the stratosphere at 71,000 feet, its highest flight yet, during its third powered test flight on Jan. Continue reading