Virgin Galactic fired its rocket plane past the speed of sound for the first time in four years

Virgin Galactic fired its rocket plane past the speed of sound for the first time in four years

6 years ago
Anonymous $gIi3-PxxKB

https://qz.com/1246039/richard-bransons-space-company-virgin-galactic-fired-its-rocket-plane-vss-unity-past-the-speed-of-sound-for-the-first-time-in-four-years/

A rocket motor shot two Virgin Galactic test pilots past the speed of sound in the latest milestone for Richard Branson’s space company.

An early morning test flight saw the VSS Unity, a spacecraft that looks like a small corporate jet, flown 15 kilometers into the air above Mojave, California by its carrier aircraft, the White Knight II. Dropped from the belly of the airplane, the spacecraft fired its rocket motor and soared into the sky, breaking the sound barrier but not reaching space. It then glided back to land at Mojave airport.

Virgin Galactic fired its rocket plane past the speed of sound for the first time in four years

Apr 5, 2018, 7:34pm UTC
https://qz.com/1246039/richard-bransons-space-company-virgin-galactic-fired-its-rocket-plane-vss-unity-past-the-speed-of-sound-for-the-first-time-in-four-years/ >A rocket motor shot two Virgin Galactic test pilots past the speed of sound in the latest milestone for Richard Branson’s space company. >An early morning test flight saw the VSS Unity, a spacecraft that looks like a small corporate jet, flown 15 kilometers into the air above Mojave, California by its carrier aircraft, the White Knight II. Dropped from the belly of the airplane, the spacecraft fired its rocket motor and soared into the sky, breaking the sound barrier but not reaching space. It then glided back to land at Mojave airport.