Virgin Galactic’s New Spaceship Makes First Glide Flight

Virgin Galactic‘s new spaceship has completed its first glide flight.

The test was conducted Saturday over the California desert.

The craft was carried aloft by its mothership, released and then glided for 10 minutes to a landing at Mojave Air and Space Port.

A series of glide flights will be conducted before testing proceeds to rocket-powered flights.

The craft is the second developed under Virgin Galactic’s plan for a fleet of ships that will carry passengers on thrill rides to space and back.

Virgin Galactic’s first spaceship broke apart in 2014 during its fourth rocket-powered test flight when the co-pilot prematurely unlocked a key system. The co-pilot was killed and the pilot survived.

Virgin Galactic is owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Aabar Investments of Abu Dhabi.

—Associated Press