Virgin Galactic takes another leap towards space tourism

SpaceShipTwo rocket plane soars above Earth on successful test flight to edge of space

Virgin Galactic has performed its third voyage to the edge of space using the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane. This flight, which took place on 22 May, was the first to take off from the company's Spaceport America facility in New Mexico.

Virgin Galactic's system comprises two parts: the rocket ship VSS Unity and the carrier aircraft VMS Eve. Together, they travelled to an altitude of about 9.5 miles (50,000ft). Eve then released Unity, which ignited its rocket. During Saturday's flight Unity achieved a speed of mach 3 that boosted it to an altitude of 55.4 miles.