<p dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.virgingalactic.com/">Virgin Galactic</a>'s passenger suborbital vehicle, SpaceShip2, broke the sound barrier on September 5 during its second powered test flight above <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/united-states/california-guide/">California</a>'s Mohave Desert.</p><p>The rocket plane turned on its engines for a 20-second burn, soaring to an altitude of 69,000 feet (21,000 kilometers) after being dropped from the underbelly of a carrier aircraft.</p><p>Designed to be the first commercial rocket ride, SpaceShip2 will blast off on a two-hour flight that will reach the edge of space at 369,000 feet (112,000 kilometers), and stay in the microgravity environment of space for up to five minutes before gliding back to Earth. (Also see <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/07/110708-space-shuttle-launch-atlantis-nasa-future-science/">"After Space Shuttle, Does U.S. Have a Future in Space?"</a>)</p><p>The company plans to fly suborbital flights with paying passengers starting in 2014.</p><p><em>—Andrew Fazekas</em></p>