Facts about Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo
- 06
Suborbital flights aboard SpaceShipTwo last approximately six minutes in weightlessness, allowing passengers roughly five minutes of free-floating time above the Kármán line.
- 05
Each SpaceShipTwo cabin window measures approximately 10 inches in diameter, providing passengers with views of Earth's curvature during the roughly 90-minute flight duration.
- 04
Mach 3.5 represents the peak velocity SpaceShipTwo achieves during its suborbital flights, powered by a single hybrid rocket motor burning nitrous oxide and nylon fuel.
- 03
Air-breathing jet engines power SpaceShipTwo's carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo up to 50,000 feet before releasing the spaceplane for its rocket-powered ascent.
- 02
SpaceShipTwo's unique feathering system rotates its tail booms upward during reentry to create aerodynamic stability at supersonic speeds.
- 01
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo reached its first commercial spaceflight on July 11, 2023, carrying founder Richard Branson and five crew members to the edge of space.