We will check the vehicle and be back to flight soon.”Instead of operating a traditional rocket that launches vertically from a launchpad, Virgin Galactic takes a different approach. Then about 45 minutes later, the space ship was released, and the pilots ignited the rocket motor. There was a bright flash, but then it went out and the crew flew back down. Sturckow, a retired Marine Corps colonel and NASA astronaut who flew four space shuttle missions. Virgin Galactic first reached space almost two years ago to the day in a flight that marked the first human spaceflight from United States soil since the space shuttle retired in 2011.

Source: Washington Post December 12, 2020 17:26 UTC