Space Plane Takes First Test Flight

Mothership and spaceship flew for 3 hours in 'captive carry' test
By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 23, 2010 11:36 AM CDT

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo took to the skies for the first time yesterday over the Mojave Desert, an important step toward passenger flights in space in 2011. “This is a momentous day,” says Burt Rutan, who built the craft and its mothership for Richard Branson’s company. The combo flew for about 3 hours, reports Space.com.

“The captive carry flight signifies the start of what we believe will be extremely exciting and successful spaceship flight test program,” Rutan says.


(More Richard Branson stories.)

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