{"id":13888,"date":"2018-04-07T01:07:57","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T17:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/photos-vss-unitys-first-powered-test-flight\/"},"modified":"2018-04-07T01:07:57","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T17:07:57","slug":"photos-vss-unitys-first-powered-test-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/photos-vss-unitys-first-powered-test-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Photos: VSS Unity\u2019s first powered test flight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>These images captured by photographer Gene Blevins show Virgin Galactic\u2019s second SpaceShipTwo space plane making its first rocket-powered test flight Thursday over California\u2019s Mojave Desert, then gliding back to a runway landing.<\/p>\n<p>The SpaceShipTwo vehicle, named VSS Unity, dropping from the belly of a carrier jet at 9:01 a.m. PDT (12:01 p.m. EDT; 1601 GMT) Thursday over the Mojave Desert in California. With two pilots at the controls, VSS Unity fired its hybrid rocket motor for 30 seconds, reaching an altitude of more than 84,000 feet and a top speed of Mach 1.87, nearly twice the speed of sound.<\/p>\n<p>It was the first rocket-powered flight for VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic\u2019s second SpaceShipTwo vehicle, after seven previous glide test flights. The VSS Unity returned to the Mojave Air and Space Port for a runway landing.<\/p>\n<p>VSS Unity replaces VSS Enterprise, a rocket plane destroyed in an October 2014 crash that killed one pilot and injured another.<\/p>\n<p>For details on Thursday\u2019s test flight, read our&nbsp;full story.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31442\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31442\" style=\"width: 465px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-31442\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"465\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_1.jpg 429w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_1-179x300.jpg 179w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 465px) 100vw, 465px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31442\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31443\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31443\" style=\"width: 465px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-31443\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"465\" height=\"797\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_2.jpg 420w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_2-175x300.jpg 175w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 465px) 100vw, 465px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31443\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31444\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31444\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31444\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"516\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_3.jpg 720w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_3-300x215.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_3-678x486.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31444\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31445\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31445\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31445 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_4.jpg 720w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_4-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_4-678x357.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31445\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31446\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31446\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31446\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_5.jpg 720w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_5-300x133.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_5-678x299.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31446\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31447\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31447\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31447\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_6.jpg 720w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_6-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_6-678x354.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31447\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31448\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31448\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31448\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_7.jpg 720w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_7-300x178.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_7-678x401.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31448\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31449\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31449\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31449\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_8.jpg 720w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_8-300x243.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vssunity_8-678x550.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31449\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Gene Blevins\/LA Daily News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These images captured by photographer Gene Blevins show Virgin Galactic\u2019s second SpaceShipTwo space plane making its first rocket-powered test flight Thursday over California\u2019s Mojave Desert, then gliding back to a runway landing. The SpaceShipTwo vehicle, named VSS Unity, dropping from the belly of a carrier jet at 9:01 a.m. PDT (12:01 p.m. EDT; 1601 GMT) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[291,1704,2806,2900,1693,493,1973,492],"class_list":["post-13888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-commercial-space","tag-dave-mackay","tag-mark-stucky","tag-mojave","tag-richard-branson","tag-space-tourism","tag-spaceshiptwo","tag-virgin-galactic"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13888"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13888\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}