http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-30/virgin-passenger-spaceship-makes-first-powered-test-flight/4659218

Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson is confident the company has moved a step closer to launching commercial flights to space, after a six-passenger spaceship fired its rocket engine in flight for the first time.

The powered test flight over California’s Mojave Desert lasted 16 seconds and broke the sound barrier.

“It was stunning,” Branson said. “You could see it very, very clearly. Putting the rocket and the spaceship together and seeing it perform safely, it was a critical day.”
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exciting!
long plume of flame

is plume the right word?

CrazyNeutrino said:

exciting!
long plume of flame

is plume the right word?

If not, it’ll do.

> Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson is confident the company has moved a step closer to launching commercial flights to space, after a six-passenger spaceship fired its rocket engine in flight for the first time. The powered test flight over California’s Mojave Desert lasted 16 seconds and broke the sound barrier.

I was looking at a web video of this last night, one containing interviews and not just the flight alone.