---
title: "Surprise! Virgin Galactic Just Did A Test Launch of Its SpaceShipTwo Spaceplane"
description: "Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's spaceflight company, successfully completed the third supersonic test flight of its SpaceShipTwo spaceplane."
date: "2018-07-26"
modified: "2018-07-26"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spaceplane-virgin-galactic-test"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "richard branson"
  - "space tourism"
  - "the digest"
  - "virgin galactic"
---

# Surprise! Virgin Galactic Just Did A Test Launch of Its SpaceShipTwo Spaceplane

![Virgin Galactic successfully completed the third supersonic test flight of its SpaceShipTwo spaceplane.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/spaceplane-virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-ss2.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/virgingalactic/8693821300/in/dateposted/" target="\_blank"\>Virgin Galactic\</a\>\</em\>*

**EARLY MORNING SURPRISE.** At around 6 AM PT Thursday morning, Virgin Galactic, the aerospace company founded by Richard Branson, [took to Twitter](<https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1022459909944688640>) to casually announce plans to test one of its SpaceShipTwo (SS2) spaceplanes.

Roughly three-and-a-half hours later, the spaceplane, named the *VSS Unity,* took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, CA. About 20 minutes after that, it touched down. No livestream, no press release — just a dozen or so Twitter posts, and it was over.

**SUPERSONIC SPACEPLANE.** Launching a SS2 is pretty different from a typical rocket launch. Instead of launching vertically, a jet-powered craft called a White Knight Two (WK2) takes off horizontally like a plane, carrying a SS2 up to its launch altitude of 15 kilometers (9.4 miles). The SS2 then separates from the carrier vehicle and flies into the upper atmosphere. Both craft later landing on a runway just like planes.

For Thursday's launch, the WK2 was named *VMS Eve*. This was *VMS Eve's* 252nd flight and *VSS Unity's* 14th, but it was only the [third rocket-powered test flight](<https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/26/virgin-galactic-third-supersonic-test-flight-succeeds.html>) for *VSS Unity* (in some test flights, it never separated from its carrier; in others, it separated but didn't ignite its engines, simply gliding without power). According to [Virgin Galactic's Twitter posts](<https://twitter.com/virgingalactic>), the goal of today's test was to "gather more data on supersonic flight, aerodynamics, as well as thermal dynamics," as well as analyze the conditions within *Unity's* cabin.

**ONE LAUNCH CLOSER.** On Wednesday, [*Bloomberg* published a video interview](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2018-07-25/richard-branson-hopes-to-be-in-space-by-the-end-of-the-year-video>) with Virgin Galactic CEO Richard Branson in which he asserted the company is closing in on its goal of sending people to space. "Before the end of the year, I hope to be sitting in a Virgin Galactic spaceship, going to space," he told interviewer David Rubenstein. If and when that happens, expect to hear a lot about it.

**READ MORE:** [Virgin Galactic Nearing First Passenger Space Flights After Third Supersonic Test This Year](<https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/26/virgin-galactic-third-supersonic-test-flight-succeeds.html>) \[*CNBC*\]

***More on the SS2: [Virgin Galactic Just Successfully Tested One of Their Spaceplanes](<https://futurism.com/virgin-galactic-successfully-tested-their-spaceplanes>)***

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)