Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo completes second hover flight

Virgin Galactic has conducted a test flight for the second time, releasing the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft from an altitude of approximately 15km. The plane landed safely at Spaceport America in New Mexico after gliding without firing its engine.

SpaceShipTwo was disconnected from the carrier aircraft VMS Eve at an altitude of 15.5km. That was several hundred meters higher than during the comparable test flight at the beginning of May. A higher speed was also achieved during the current test flight: 1050 km/h compared to 864 km/h during the previous test flight. According to Virgin Galactic, the higher speed was important because some of the spacecraft’s systems would then operate in a situation not far removed from the conditions during the phases in which the rocket motor is used.

The two test pilots performed a number of maneuvers to collect data on performance and handling qualities while flying at higher speeds. The collected data is now compared with data from comparable maneuvers from the previous test flight in order to better calculate the aerodynamic forces.

Depending on the outcome of the assessment of the collected data, Virgin Galactic will now make preparations for the next phase in the test program: space flights from Spaceport America in which the rocket engine is ignited. Before that, there are also some modifications to be made to the spacecraft.

Virgin Galactic has previously conducted motor test flights, although this has never happened from Spaceport America. From its own Mojave Air & Space Port in California, an altitude of 89 km was reached last year. That roughly forms the blueprint for the flights that the company wants to carry out with space tourists. The spacecraft is released suspended from the carrier plane, after which it ignites its rocket motor and quickly gains altitude. Once space is reached, a few minutes of weightlessness follow, after which the craft descends again and after a glide flight, lands on a runway as if it were a regular aircraft.