Virgin Galactic Has First Rocket Test Flight

Virgin Galactic's passenger spacecraft has completed its first rocket-powered flight in a trial run described by Sir Richard Branson as historic.

SpaceShipTwo flew above California's Mojave Desert at an altitude of 56,000ft after being released from a carrier aircraft.

The rocket-powered portion of the flight lasted 10 minutes and the flight marks the start of the final stage of testing ahead of a full space flight, which is planned for the end of the year.

Virgin says it has so far taken $70m (£45m) in deposits from some 580 individuals hoping to become the first space tourists.

Sir Richard, who founded the project, was on the ground to witness the test flight and said it was "history in the making".

Sir Richard Branson congratulated the flight's test pilots

"The first powered flight of Virgin Spaceship Enterprise was without any doubt, our single most important flight test to date," he said.

"For the first time, we were able to prove the key components of the system, fully integrated and in flight."

As planned, the rockets burned for 16 seconds and propelled SpaceShipTwo to Mach 1.2, Virgin said in a statement.

Similar testing now lies ahead for the aircraft, which promises to take six paying passengers and two pilots on a suborbital space flight, complete with several minutes of weightlessness.

Would-be "astronauts" will have to save hard though - ticket prices are $200,000 (£129,000).

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