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Sir Richard Branson

  • Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo on its way to a record 71,000 ft altitude and Mach 1.4 (Photo: Virgin Galactic)
    Astronomy
    SpaceShipTwo sets new altitude and speed records
    Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo (SS2) continues to inch toward a full suborbital test flight with its third supersonic test carried out Friday morning. The SS2 rocket engine pushed the suborbital spacecraft to an altitude of 71,000 ft (18 km) and a top speed over Mach 1.4.