Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo flew into space for the second time on Friday, taking off from Mojave, California, following a weather delay of days. SpaceShipTwo took off at 8:07 a.m. PST, carrying two pilots, a crewmember, and nearly full-weight NASA science projects.
Unlike most spaceflights, which launch rockets from the ground, SpaceShipTwo is carried on the belly of a plane called White Knight Two before being released to propel itself into the upper atmosphere. SpaceShipTwo was carried 45,000 feet (13,700 meters) into the air before successfully firing its rocket engine and reaching suborbital space at approximately 8:55 a.m. PST.
It coasted there for a few minutes before returning to the ground, where it landed like any other plane, about an hour after takeoff. This flight, like all of SpaceShipTwo’s planned flights, was suborbital, which means it did not enter orbit and only experienced weightlessness for a few minutes.
SpaceShipTwo’s first powered flight was in December 2018 and this will be its fifth overall. Unlike SpaceX and other private spaceflight companies, Virgin Galactic focuses on transporting private citizens into space and has accepted reservations for years.
Today’s crew included the cabin evaluation lead and Chief Astronaut Instructor from Virgin Galactic. Her task today was to assess how SpaceShipTwo felt from the cabin. Eventually, Virgin Galactic hopes to seat six passengers instead of or alongside the science payloads.
The spacecraft also carried research projects from NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, which connects research institutions with private companies that can launch their projects into space. SpaceShipTwo’s combined payload weight was close to, but slightly less than, the NASA-specified commercial launch weight.
One of Virgin Galactic’s objectives for this flight was to see how the vehicle performs with a greater weight distribution. Details will most likely be provided later, but the flight was a success, which bodes well for the craft’s future as a cargo and passenger ferry.
