Mubasher: SpaceShip Two, owned by Abu Dhabi-backed Virgin Galactic, launches its first flight to space with two pilots on Thursday to make the first flight since 2011 from the US soil, AFP reported.
SpaceShip Two flew over than before after exceeding what the US Air Force considers the boundary of space, the news agency said.
After the spaceship reached over 43,000 feet, it fired the rocket motors for 60 seconds, marking a peak height of 51.4 miles.
In 2010, Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments, which is currently managed by Mubadala, acquired a 31.8% stake in Virgin Galactic.
This flight was headed by the British giant Richard Branson.
“Today, for the first time in history, a crewed spaceship, built to carry private passengers, reached space,” Branson stated in a statement
“What we witnessed today is more compelling evidence that commercial space is set to become one of the 21st century's defining industries,” Virgin Galactic and the Spaceship Company CEO George Whitesides noted.
The British tycoon previously noted that he was planning to send tourists to space at a cost of $250,000 per seat soon.
“Congrats to @VirginGalactic on SpaceShipTwo successfully flying to suborbital space with our four @NASA_Technology payloads onboard,” the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said on Twitter.
In the last month, Branson told CNN that he hoped to make the first flight to space before Christmas, especially after more than 600 persons paid $250,000 for a ticket.
“Commercial space has great potential for American economic and innovative leadership,” The Federal Aviation Administration's acting head Dan Elwell concluded.
