Passenger space flight gets some real power

This week Virgin Galactic sent its WhiteKnightTwo carrier jet to 48,000 feet to release SpaceShipTwo, which in turn fired a rocket engine that burned for 16 seconds and went to 55,000 feet at Mach 1.2. The spaceship then safely glided to a landing at Mojave Air and Space Port.

The milestone of a powered rocket flight is an important one for Virgin Galactic and New Mexico taxpayers, who have invested more than $200 million in Spaceport America near TorC. Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson says “having spaceship and rocket perform together in the air is a long way toward getting into space. A few more test flights with slightly bigger burns every time, and then we’ll all be back here to watch it go into space.”

That final test flight is expected near the end of the year and, along with approval from the government, will clear the company to start launching from the southern New Mexico desert more than 500 aspiring space tourists who have reserved a $200,000 seat to experience weightlessness while checking out the Earth’s curvature from 62 miles up.

The 2013 Legislature’s extension of limited liability waivers to manufacturers and ancillary companies, with a strong push from the governor, put commercial viability for the emerging space industry on the N.M. launchpad. This successful flight puts suborbital passenger flight from Spaceport America within reach.

And 2014 and access to the final frontier via the Land of Enchantment don’t seem far away at all.