The maiden flight of Scaled Composite's White Knight 2 all carbon composite carrier plane has taken place at Mojave Air and Spaceport in California. On Sunday, between 8:17 am and 9.17am Pacific Standard Time, the giant aircraft took to the skies under the power of its four Pratt and Whitney PW308A turbofan engines.
WK2 represents the crucial vehicle element in Richard Branson's plan for commercial sub-orbital public spaceflight. With an extensive series of shakedown flights planned, the White Knight 2 will soon be joined to its rocket plane payload - the SpaceShipTwo vehicle blasting passengers to 328,000ft for a $200,000 per person price tag.
Image: Virgin Galactic
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