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Copyright © 2018 Albuquerque Journal

LAS CRUCES – Virgin Galactic successfully launched its first rocket-powered space flight in four years with the Unity spacecraft reaching supersonic speeds before safely landing Thursday in the Mojave Desert in California.

“It’s a big step forward for our team, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said when reached by phone.

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The larger WhiteKnightTwo plane lifted Unity above the desert to an altitude of 46,500 feet before releasing the spacecraft. Unity’s rocket engine then burned for 30 seconds, exceeding the speed of sound.

“This is longer than we’ve ever burned,” Whitesides said. “The pilots did great!”

The test flight is the first since the fatal 2014 crash that grounded flights for two years and led to extensive testing of the rebuilt SpaceshipTwo. The new spacecraft includes better safety controls for the tail wing’s locking mechanism, which was a factor in the crash.

The successful test means Virgin Galactic is closer to moving operations to Spaceport America, near Truth or Consequences.

“It’s a really great day for our team and for the state of New Mexico as well,” Whitesides said.

Dan Hicks, Spaceport America CEO, said, “This mission they accomplished this morning was such a wonderful milestone.”

Virgin Galactic is the anchor tenant at the taxpayer-funded southern New Mexico spaceport.

“This is just a great sign the investment that our state leaders made 10 years ago was the right thing to do to keep us in the space industry,” Hicks said.

Virgin Galactic’s lease on the hangar will increase from $1 million to $3 million this year, and plans are in the works to grow the staff from 30 to 100. New employees have started moving to southern New Mexico ahead of commercial launches.

Virgin Galactic has sold more than 600 tickets for future suborbital trips to the edge of space.

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson’s ultimate goal is commercial space tourism.

“Space feels tantalizingly close now,” Branson tweeted after Thursday’s test flight.