Ů��С��Ƶ

Virgin Galactic’s newest space plane has finally left the nest for its first free flight. VSS Unity, the second iteration of the company’s SpaceShipTwo, had five assisted flights since September, but the 3 December flight marks the first time pilots have steered and landed it alone.

VSS Unity spent 10 minutes gliding above the Mojave desert after being carried to an altitude of 50,000 feet by its “mothership”, WhiteKnightTwo. During its descent, it reached a maximum speed of Mach 0.6 (about 735 kilometres per hour).

After the fatal crash of VSS Unity’s predecessor in October 2014, in which one pilot was killed and the other severely injured, Virgin Galactic is placing extra emphasis on testing and safety procedures.

“This glide flight was the first of many,” Virgin Galactic said in an update. “We’ll take the time to properly and thoroughly analyse the vehicle’s performance before clearing the vehicle for our next test.”

After some more rounds of glide flight testing, the next step will be to turn up the power, utilising VSS Unity’s rocket engine and taking it higher into the atmosphere. Ultimately, once the testing is over, Virgin Galactic hopes to sell tickets to space on VSS Unity, which has room for six passengers.