Planetary Society logo
  • “Exploration is in our nature.” - Carl Sagan

Pretty pictures: Gliding flight for SpaceShipTwo

Emily Lakdawalla

Written by Emily Lakdawalla
April 5, 2013

I post these for no other reason than that they are just breathtaking. I've seen these two lovely aircraft up close, but it's another thing entirely to see them in the sky. Especially to see SpaceShipTwo gliding free of WhiteKnightTwo. The pictures were taken during a test flight on April 3; Virgin Galactic shared them on their Facebook page yesterday. SpaceShipTwo has still not been tested in powered flight.

SpaceShipTwo release
SpaceShipTwo release SpaceShipTwo just after she is released from WhiteKnightTwo for another successful test flight. This was her 24th glide flight and the 6th in-flight test of her patented feathered re-entry system. The flight also successfully verified SS2's nitrous loading and venting system, another key milestone on the way to her first powered flight.Image: Virgin Galactic
SpaceShipTwo release (wide view)
SpaceShipTwo release (wide view) SpaceShipTwo just after she is released from WhiteKnightTwo for another successful test flight. This was her 24th glide flight and the 6th in-flight test of her patented feathered re-entry system. The flight also successfully verified SS2's nitrous loading and venting system, another key milestone on the way to her first powered flight.Image: Virgin Galactic
Gliding past the Moon
Gliding past the Moon SpaceShipTwo glided past the Moon as she came in to land at the Mojave Spaceport after another successful test flight. This was her 24th glide flight and the 6th in-flight test of her patented feathered re-entry system. The flight also successfully verified SS2's nitrous loading and venting system, another key milestone on the way to her first powered flight.Image: Virgin Galactic / Oliver Ouyang

Support our core enterprises

Your gift today will go far to help us close out the year strong and keep up our momentum in 2026.

Donate