3
Spaceship climbs to 50 miles (80km). Passengers experience weightlessness
2
Rocket engines power a near-vertical climb at close to Mach 3.5
4
Wings
pivot to a ‘feathered’
re-entry configuration
1
Carrier aircraft climbs to 9 miles (15km) before releasing SpaceShipTwo
5
At 9 miles the wings de-feather for the glide home
New Mexico
Santa Fe
Albuquerque
Spaceport
America
3
Spaceship climbs to 80km (50 miles) – the edge of space. Crew of six, including Branson, experience weightlessness
4
Wings pivot forward to ‘feathered’ re-entry configuration
Exosphere
600–10,000km
Not to scale
Nasa-defined
space boundary
80km
Thermosphere
80–600
Mesosphere
60–80
2
Rocket engines propel craft into a near- vertical climb at close to Mach 3.5
Stratosphere
20–60
Ozone layer
20-30km
Commercial jets
New Mexico
10–12km
Santa Fe
Mount Everest
8.84km
Albuquerque
Surface
Spaceport
America
1
Carrier aircraft takes off from a runway at Spaceport America and climbs to 15km (9 miles) before releasing SpaceShipTwo
5
At 15km the wings de-feather for the glide home