SpaceShipTwo Carrier Craft Makes Successful First Flight

Description

A carrier aircraft designed to be the first stage of a commercial spaceline system made its maiden test flight today at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

Designed by Scaled Composites, the huge and unique WhiteKnightTwo mothership rolled down the runway and muscled itself into the air using four Pratt and Whitney PW308A turbofan engines. The WhiteKnightTwo flew for about an hour, departing the runway at roughly 8:17 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, safely touching down at the Mojave Air and Space Port at approximately 9:17 a.m. PST.

Original URL

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/081221-whiteknighttwo-test.html

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/081221-whiteknighttwo-test.html