MOJAVE, Calif. -- Virgin Galactic says the latest glide test of its space tourism rocket plane was a success, nearly reaching the speed of sound high over California.
The spaceship, named Unity, was carried aloft by its mother ship on Thursday and released over the Mojave Desert.
The craft was immediately put into a steep descent and accelerated to Mach 0.9 to test stability and control under forces approaching what it will endure when its rocket is fired for suborbital flights into the lower fringes of space.
It was the seventh glide flight for Unity.
Virgin Galactic did not indicate whether the program is ready to move on to rocket-powered test flights.
Congratulations to @VirginGalactic pilots and the team for the fastest glide flight to date at Mach 0.9 from 50,000 feet https://t.co/t9CZspeLFQ #SpaceShipTwo pic.twitter.com/nszRj02i0U
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) January 12, 2018
ICYMI VSS Unity completed her 7th glide flight test this morning. For more information on today's flight head to our website https://t.co/YoQTqUr0oK #SpaceShipTwo Getting #NMReady pic.twitter.com/DbGhJUeuEo
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) January 12, 2018