Space tourism is small step closer for mankind after Virgin Galactic carried out its second powered test flight to break the sound barrier and climb higher than ever before.
Its manned spacecraft has become the highest commercial winged vehicle to ever fly and it flexed its shuttlecock-inspired 'feather system' for the first time, which is used for safely re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.
A giant jet-powered cargo aircraft called WhiteKnightTwo carried the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) to an altitude of 46,000 feet above the Mojave desert before the spacecraft pilots started the rocket motor, which propelled the SS2 to 69,000 feet above the Earth's surface.
They only burned the rocket engine for 20 seconds, but the spacecraft reached a top speed of Mach 1.43.
While the speed of the test was impressive, the scientists were mostly interested in how the craft's re-entry system functioned.
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