SIR Richard Branson looked on as Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo successfully glided through its first free- flying test, more than two years after a man was killed when the first aircraft crashed.
The SpaceShipTwo, dubbed VSS Unity, landed in Mojave, California, about 10 minutes after it cleanly detached from its carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo, which also returned to ground safely.
Virgin Group founder Sir Richard joined Virgin Galactic chief executive George Whitesides and other onlookers to witness the test flight, smiling and clapping as VSS Unity’s two pilots manned the vehicle back on to the runway.
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After further glide flights, the next step in the group’s ongoing mission to make space tourism a reality will be to conduct rocket-powered flights to test the Unity’s hybrid motor.
Last year, an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Body found a fatal October 2014 crash was caused by a catastrophic structural failure triggered when the co-pilot unlocked the craft’s braking system early.
The spaceship broke apart over the Mojave Desert during a powered test flight, killing co-pilot Michael Alsbury and seriously injuring pilot Peter Siebold.
Virgin Galactic has said it will officially launch operations from Spaceport America in New Mexico with paying passengers “once it believes it is safe to do so” and it has received all regulatory approvals.
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Scotland is leading the race to host the UK’s first spaceport and it could be operational by 2019.
All potential Scottish sites are in step with a government checklist of base requirements – with their remote nature helping allay safety and noise pollution fears. The Government is keen to establish a spaceport in the UK to allow regular space tourism flights and to send satellites into orbit.
The Department of Transport has published a list of criteria for any site bidding.
It is understood Scottish contenders, Campbeltown, Stornoway and Prestwick are ahead of competitors in England and Wales.
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