- Joined
- Apr 27, 2003
- Posts
- 18,719
- Qantas
- LT Gold
- Virgin
- Platinum
SpaceShipTwo Flown To Launch AltitudeMay 20, 2010
By Guy Norris
LOS ANGELES — Scaled Composites has successfully pressurized and powered up Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2) from the WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) carrier aircraft in flight for the first time.
The milestone was achieved on the second captive-carry test flight, which took the vehicle to its planned launch altitude at around 51,000 ft. On its first flight under the wings of WK2 on March 22, the spaceship was carried to an altitude of 45,000 ft., but the vehicle was not pressurized or activated.
By Guy Norris

The milestone was achieved on the second captive-carry test flight, which took the vehicle to its planned launch altitude at around 51,000 ft. On its first flight under the wings of WK2 on March 22, the spaceship was carried to an altitude of 45,000 ft., but the vehicle was not pressurized or activated.