SpaceShipTwo had a successful glide flight this morning at the Mojave Air and Space Port. The suborbital space vehicle took off at 7:18 a.m. PDT underneath its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft. It landed on runway 30 at 8:40 a.m. PDT after a brief glide flight.

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WhiteKnightTwo takes off for a SpaceShipTwo glide flight on April 3, 2013. (Credit: Douglas Messier

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The vehicles were accompanied by the Proteus aircraft for the high-altitude drop and a low-altitude chase plane. All three vehicles flew in formation over SpaceShipTwo after it landed.

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The dual contrails of the WhiteKnightTwo are shown at the bottom of the picture with SpaceShipTwo just above it (small dot) taken right after separation. At the very top of the photo, Proteus visible with a contrail behind it. (Credit: Douglas Messier)

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This is the second of three planned glide flights with the engine configuration installed prior to the start of powered flights later.

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SpaceShipTwo makes a turn as it glides toward a landing on Runway 30 at the Mojave Air and Space Port. (Credit: Douglas Messier)

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The most recent Scaled Composites engine test took place on Saturday, March 30. It was the 27th test in the series.

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Scaled Composites employees examine SpaceShipTwo after a successful glide flight on April 3, 2013. (Credit: Bill Deaver)

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Quelle: Virgin