SpaceShipTwo
SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is the successor to Tier One's SpaceShipOne, which became the first commercial spacecraft to conduct a successful manned spaceflight in 2004. SS2 is a suborbital passenger spaceplane, designed to carry two crew and up to six passengers to an altitude of around 110 kilometres (68 mi). It is carried to its launch altitude by the White Knight Two carrier aircraft, and uses the RocketMotorTwo hybrid rocket engine to reach suborbital altitudes. SS2 then uses a feathered reentry system to glide back to Earth, landing at a dedicated spaceport. The spacecraft is primarily intended to carry space tourists for Virgin Galactic, but it may also be used by scientists to perform microgravity experiments.
SS2 performed its first gliding test flight in October 2010, and has conducted 26 successful test flights as of April 2013. In May 2012, the FAA granted Scaled Composites a permit to conduct rocket-powered SS2 test flights. In October 2012, Scaled began installing key elements of SS2's rocket engine, and the spacecraft conducted its first rocket-powered flight in April 2012. SS2 is expected to begin commercial flights in 2014, although this is not a fixed date.
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