Gallery: Behind the Scenes of SpaceShipTwo's First Powered Flight
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The first rocket-powered flight of SpaceShipTwo lasted mere seconds, but getting it there took hours. Monday's successful [powered flight of SpaceShipTwo](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/autopia/2013/04/spaceshiptwo-first-rocket-powered-flight/) was a major milestone for Virgin Galactic and its founder, Sir Richard Branson. More than 500 people hold tickets for a sub-orbital flight to the edge of space, and the supersonic test flight took them all one step closer to the day they'll take flight. There's still a lot of work to be done, and the team at Scaled Composites building and testing the hardware for Branson will make many more flights as it expands and [defines the flight envelope](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/autopia/2010/10/test-pilot-describes-first-glide-flight-of-spaceshiptwo/) of the spacecraft. Monday's flight was made early in the day to take advantage of the cooler temperatures and lighter winds common to Mojave at that hour. Long before the sun rose over the desert, the crew started its pre-flight briefing and final preparations of SpaceShipTwo. Virgin Galactic photographer Mark Greenberg and Scaled Composites engineer Jason DiVenere supplied us with behind-the-scenes photos of the Scaled crew at work. We've also got an updated video of the 16 second powered flight with several new views, including from the mother ship as SpaceShipTwo is released from [WhiteKnightTwo](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/autopia/2009/07/flying-the-plane-that-may-take-you-to-edge-of-space/) and rockets away. *Photo: Virgin Galactic*
(c) 2013 Jason DiVenere/Scaled Composites/Virgin Galactic022 spaceshiptwo rocket engine install
SpaceShipTwo's rocket engine, made by Sierra Nevada, uses solid rubber (strictly speaking, hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene) fuel and liquid nitrous oxide as the oxidizer. The engine can be throttled by pilot Mark Stuckey, whose call sign is Forger. That explains the rocket's name — Forger's Force. Everyone on the team signed the rocket nozzle. *Photo: Jason DiVenere via Virgin Galactic*
(c) 2013 Mark Greenberg/Virgin Galactic03First Rocket Powered Flight of SpaceShip2
Rocket engineer Luke Colby adds his signature to the rocket nozzle before the test flight, in which the rocket fired without a problem as SpaceShipTwo left its mother ship at 47,000 feet at 7:48 a.m. PDT. *Photo: Mark Greenberg/Virgin Galactic*
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WhiteKnightTwo pilot Dave McKay, with SpaceShipTwo pilot Mark Stuckey and SpaceShipTwo co-pilot Mike Alsbury head for SpaceShipTwo and the mother ship that carried it aloft. *Photo: Mark Greenberg/Virgin Galactic*
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Scaled Composites founder and aerospace legend Burt Rutan snaps some pictures during yesterday's flight test while X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis looks on. Rutan retired from Scaled Composites in 2011 and has said SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo were among the first designs by Scaled Composites that he did not lead. Still, both are heavily influenced by WhiteKnight and SpaceShipOne, both of which he did design. *Photo: Chris Fischer/Virgin Galactic*
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Proteus was used as the high altitude chase plane for Monday's flight. The plane, which Rutan designed in the mid 1990s, was to be a communication platform that could serve as a high-altitude antenna for high-speed data communication. The company behind the idea never managed to fulfill it, and Proteus has since been used for a wide variety of other tasks. **Photo: Jason DiVenere via Virgin Galactic**
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The three forward fuselage cockpits of the mother ship and SpaceShipTwo are identical. Pilots can use WhiteKnightTwo as a spacecraft simulator, allowing them to maintain cockpit familiarity. Once Virgin Galactic begins commercial flights, those lucky enough to take a ride will be able to fly in the mother ship during launch missions. WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo depart Mojave yesterday morning on their way to 47,000 feet for the rocket plane's first rocket test. Moments after SpaceShipTwo's release from the mother ship, pilots Mark Stucky and Mike Alsbury ignited the rocket engine and off they went. *Photo: Mark Greenberg/Virgin Galactic*
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Stucky and Alsbury hit Mach 1.2 as they climbed to an altitude of 56,200 feet. The rocket burn, seen here from the tail, lasted just 16 seconds. *Photo: Virgin Galactic*
(c) 2013 Mark Greenberg/Virgin Galactic09burt rutan richard branson
Rutan and Sir Richard Branson celebrate the successful flight. *Photo: Mark Greenberg/Virgin Galactic*
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