[Update 2: SpaceShipTwo has successfully completed its first glide test, landing at Mojave Air and Space Port shortly after 8 am PDT (11 am EDT) Sunday morning, a little more than 10 minutes after being released by WhiteKnightTwo.]<\/p>\n
[Update: the first glide test is indeed taking place Sunday morning; follow along at the Popular Mechanics<\/i> liveblog<\/a>, reporting from Mojave.]<\/p>\n The long wait for the first free flight by SpaceShipTwo may nearly be over. Popular Mechanics<\/i> reported Saturday that, according to its sources, Scaled will perform the first glide test as soon as Sunday morning<\/a>, taking the aircraft up to an altitude of 15,000 meters (50,000 feet) and then release it. SpaceShipTwo most recently flew a captive carry flight with the WhiteKnightTwo aircraft on September 30th; according to the published test log<\/a> the flight was a “rehearsal mission” for upcoming glide tests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [Update 2: SpaceShipTwo has successfully completed its first glide test, landing at Mojave Air and Space Port shortly after 8 am PDT (11 am EDT) Sunday morning, a little more than 10 minutes after being released by WhiteKnightTwo.] [Update: the … Continue reading