Watch Video as SpaceshipTwo from Virgin Galactic Breaks Sound Barrier in First Powered Flight Test

It has been several years since SpaceShipOne won the X-prize by becoming the first private rocket to complete a sub-orbital manned rocket flight twice within a short period. But that doesn’t mean that the Scaled team, founded by Burt Rutan has not been busy. In the video below, you can watch the first rocket powered test flight of SpaceshipTwo (spaceship 2) as it drops from it carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo at 47,000 feet and blasts its way through the sound barrier.

The video of the powered test flight of Spaceship2 (SS2), flown by Scaled test pilots Mark Stucky, pilot, and Mike Alsbury took place just before 8AM local time on Monday, April 29th. WhiteKnightTwo (WK2), which carried SS2 aloft after take-off at 7:02 am , was piloted by Virgin Galactic’s Chief Pilot Dave Mackay, assisted by Clint Nichols and Brian Maisler, acting as co-pilot and flight test engineer, respectively.

The team, at what is now Virgin Galactic, owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, proudly announced the completion of the first rocket-powered flight of its space vehicle. This phase of powered testing marks the final phase of testing before the company can actually begin to offer commercial space flight service from “Spaceport America” in New Mexico.

“The first powered flight of Virgin Spaceship Enterprise was without any doubt, our single most important flight test to date,” said Virgin Galactic Founder Sir Richard Branson, who was on the ground in Mojave to witness the occasion. “For the first time, we were able to prove the key components of the system, fully integrated and in flight. Today’s supersonic success opens the way for a rapid expansion of the spaceship’s powered flight envelope, with a very realistic goal of full space flight by the year’s end. We saw history in the making today and I couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved.”

After igniting its engine, SpaceShip2 accelerated to Mach 1.2 during the 16 seconds of powered flight, and reached an altitude of 55,000 feet.

“The rocket motor ignition went as planned, with the expected burn duration, good engine performance and solid vehicle handling qualities throughout,” said Virgin Galactic President & CEO George Whitesides. “The successful outcome of this test marks a pivotal point for our program. We will now embark on a handful of similar powered flight tests, and then make our first test flight to space.”

Over the course of 2013, the teams at Virgin Galactic and Scaled will continue with longer and more advanced test flights. Before the end of the year, they anticipate a full space flight.

“I’d like to congratulate the entire team,” said President of Scaled Kevin Mickey. “This milestone has been a long time coming and it’s only through the hard work of the team and the tremendous support of Virgin Galactic that we have been able to witness this important milestone. We look forward to all our upcoming tests and successes.”