First human spaceflight from Spaceport America

Virgin Galactic conducted the first human spaceflight from Spaceport America in New Mexico. The carrier aircraft released VSS Unity at 9:26 AM MDT (15:26 UTC) at an altitude of 44,000 feet.Following a 60 second burn, VSS Unity reached an apogee of 89,2 kilometers and then landed back safely on the runway. This marked 11th flight attempt for Virgin Galactic.

VSS Unity’s first attempt to space from New Mexico was unsuccessful after its engine aborted just one second after release during the flight on December 12, 2020. The crew was safe and brought the spacecraft to a successfull and unpowered descent for landing after the abort.