Enterprise's First Crewed FlightVirgin Galactic isn't quite ready to "beam up" its first space tourists. But the commercial spaceship V.S.S. Enterprise has made its first crewed flight, soaring over California's Mojave Desert last week.During the roughly six-hour test flight, the Enterprise stayed attached to the Virgin Galactic mothership, the craft designed to carry the passenger vehicle toward suborbital heights. But two crew members used the trip to run through a battery of system tests in preparation for future solo flights.
Photograph courtesy Virgin Galactic

Space Photos This Week: "Enterprise" Crew, Big Baby Star

The V.S.S. Enterprise takes flight, a Mars lander gets an eye, a Saturn moon makes snowballs, and more in the week's best space pictures.

July 24, 2010