Virgin Galactic's suborbital space vehicle SpaceShipTwo had its first rocket-powered flight on 29 April, going supersonic during its 16 second engine burn. The flight is an important step forward towards commercial operations.
The spaceline's founder, Sir Richard Branson, was on the ground at Mojave to witness the test flight. "The first powered flight of Virgin Spaceship Enterprise was without any doubt, our single most important flight test to date. For the first time, we were able to prove the key components of the system, fully integrated and in flight. Today's supersonic success opens the way for a rapid expansion of the spaceship's powered flight envelope, with a very realistic goal of full space flight by the year's end. We saw history in the making today and I couldn't be more proud of everyone involved," said Branson.
By: Charles Black, Sen.com, Edited by: Kadhim Shubber
Continue reading...
via Wired.co.uk
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-04/30/virgin-galactic-first-powered-flight
No comments:
Post a Comment