Virgin Galactic completes its first human spaceflight

Virgin Galactic made its first rocket-powered flight from New Mexico to the fringes of space in a manned shuttle, as the company moves toward offering tourist flights to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere.

On Saturday, the company announced the firing of VSS Unity’s rocket motor to hurtle the ship and two pilots toward space.

A live feed by NASASpaceFlight.com showed the rocket accelerating upward, estimated a top altitude of at least 50 miles and confirmed a landing later via radar.

Sir Richard Branson confirmed in a Twitter post that the two pilots and a research payload belonging to NASA had reached space.