Virgin Galactic successfully launched its first supersonic test flight on Thursday, CBS News reports. The new tourism space rocket SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity is the first powered flight since a crash in 2014 that resulted in the death of one pilot and destroyed the rocket's earlier model.
Why it matters, per CBS: "Virgin Galactic is the first private company to offer trips out of the atmosphere that are open to private citizens. Blue Origin, owned by Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos, has also entered the commercial space arena, building a roomy capsule that will be boosted out of the atmosphere by a more traditional hydrogen-powered rocket."
