https://medium.com/extremetech-access/virgin-galactic-reaches-new-record-altitude-in-latest-test-flight-cafed46e036b

Virgin Galactic is inching closer and closer to making its commercial spaceflight service a reality. The company just completed yet another test flight of its rocket-powered spaceplane, reaching the highest altitude yet of 55.87 miles (89.8 kilometers). At this rate, founder Richard Branson has expressed optimism that he’ll be able to fly into space to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing this summer.

As with all Virgin Galactic flights, the process starts with a conventional airplane-style lift off from the Mojave Air & Space Port north of Los Angeles. Virgin’s SpaceShipTwo links up to the carrier jet, known as WhiteKnightTwo for this phase of the test. The twin-fuselage carrier takes the spaceplane up, but it can’t get anywhere near space. Just before noon local time on Friday (February 22), SpaceShipTwo (also known as VSS Unity) undocked from WhiteKnightTwo and fired its engine.