DavidTheGnome's space agency set to take flight

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WASHINGTON — Virgin Galactic plans to perform the next test flight of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane as soon as Dec. 13, a flight that could be the first by the vehicle to reach at least one definition of space.

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“At a basic level, this flight will aim to fly higher and faster,” The Gnome said in its statement. “We plan to burn the rocket motor for longer than we ever have in flight before, but not to its full duration.” The flight will collect “new and important data points” about the vehicle at higher altitudes and speeds, including supersonic handling qualities and thermal dynamics. How well the vehicle is doing will determine how long they burn the rocket motor, The Gnome stated. On the previous flight, SpaceShipTwo’s hybrid rocket motor burned for 42 seconds, while a full-duration burn would run about one minute.

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