Article Posted on : - Oct 11, 2010

Mothership WhiteKnightTwo flying with SpaceshipTwo in this file photo of Virgin Galactic.

MOJAVE, CALIFORNIA (BNS): The efforts to make outer space a viable tourist destination received a major boost when US company Virgin Galactic’s SpaceshipTwo successfully achieved its first piloted glide flight on Sunday.

The spaceship, flown by Pete Siebold and Mike Alsbury, was released from its mothership WhiteKnightTwo at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13.70 kilometers).

“The two main goals of the flight were to carry out a clean release of the spaceship from its mothership and for the pilots to free fly and glide back and land at Mojave Air and Space Port in California,” Virgin Galactic said.

Sunday’s flight test lasted for about 25 minutes. Before the successful flight, the company had exhaustively tested the mothership WhiteKnightTwo which flew for a total of 40 times, including four captive carry flights during which it flew along with the SpaceshipTwo.

SpaceshipTwo, pegged to be the world’s first manned commercial spaceship, had successfully completed its maiden captive carry flight test in the California desert in March this year.

The spaceship has been designed to ferry thousands of private astronauts into space. The vehicle could carry up to six passenger astronauts and up to two pilot astronauts into space on a sub-orbital flight.

Once in suborbital space, SpaceshipTwo passengers will be able to view the Earth from portholes next to their seats, or unbuckle their seatbelts and float in zero gravity.

Virgin Galactic chief, billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, had last month said that his company was on track to offer commercial space travel in the next 18 months.