This May 29, 2018 photo provided by Virgin Galactic shows the VSS Unity craft during a supersonic flight test. The spaceship isn’t launched from the ground but is carried beneath a special aircraft to an altitude around 50,000 feet (15,240 meters). There, it’s released before igniting its rocket engine and climbing. (Virgin Galactic via AP)
MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) — Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is gearing up to finally send its rocket ship to the edge of space.
If successful, it would be a major step toward the long-delayed dream of commercial space tourism.
The next test flight could come as early as Thursday with the rocket-powered spacecraft soaring high above California’s Mojave Desert.
Development of the Virgin Galactic spaceship took far longer than expected and endured a setback when the first one broke apart during a 2014 test flight, killing the co-pilot. A company statement says the next test flights aim to “reach a space altitude for the first time.”
Hundreds of people have signed up to pay as much as $250,000 for a supersonic thrill ride on the six-passenger spaceship.