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You probably know that Virgin trains and planes, but did you know that the company also makes rockets that go into space?
On Friday, the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo reached space for the second time, reaching three times the speed of sound and reaching a peak (maximum height) of 55.87 miles. At this point, the crew has experienced the feeling of weightlessness that we all imagine in our dreams of space.
Previously, the spacecraft was detached from the WhiteKnightTwo "mothership" at approximately 45,000 feet. The rocket engine then ignited and propelled the crew above the arbitrary 50-mile border considered by the United States as the threshold between the Earth and space.
After reaching such heights, the spacecraft descended safely to the Virgin Galactic spaceport in the Mojave Desert in California.
The crew was made up of Virgin Galactic 's Dave Mackay and Mike Masucci, pilot of the Space Shuttle, as well as the passenger, chief astronaut instructor, Beth Moses, the first woman to fly in the air. space on board a merchant ship.
Virgin Galactic said the flight had roughly the amount of weight to expect from a full commercial flight.
Richard Branson, founder and CEO of Virgin, praised the success of the team on Twitter.
He said: "Gutted I could not be on the flight line to see @virgingalactique reach the space for the second time as I promised to help organize #VenezuelaAidLive – but a huge congratulations to the team. "
The billionaire has already stated that he hoped to fly into space aboard the ship by the summer.
But it's not just the vanity project of an incredibly rich man; it is hoped that the satellite will eventually bring members of the public well beyond Benidorm and into space.
That said, the one-and-a-half hour return trip will cost around $ 250,000, which equates to a few days of vacation in Benidorm.
The spacecraft first reached space on December 13, an extremely moving moment for Branson.
Speaking at the time, the entrepreneur in tears said News from the sky"After 14 challenging years, taking Virgin Galactic to space has been a historic and historic opportunity."
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
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