Virgin Galactic is set to resume flight testing following the October 2014 accident near Mojave that destroyed its rocketplane and killed one of the pilots. The FAA has granted an operating license for SpaceShipTwo Unity, the replacement for the crashed Enterprise, and a taxi test, pictured, was conducted on 1 August.
Captive carry and glide tests will commence “soon”, says a spokesperson. Like Enterprise, the six-passenger Unity will be air-launched from approximately 50,000ft and ascend under its own rocket power to slightly more than 100km (62 miles) above the Earth, spending about 6min in sub-orbital microgravity before gliding back to the runway.
Virgin Galactic
Source: FlightGlobal.com
