First launch of commercial space craft deemed success

The World

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip2 made its first successful launch and landing over the weekend, reaching 45,000 feet over the Mojave Desert and gliding back down to the surface. The space craft is being tested with hopes that it will be ready for commercial use by 2012, sending civilians willing to pay the hefty ticket price into space for the first time. We talk with Jim Meigs, editor-in-chief of Popular Mechanics, about the launch and what it means for the space tourism industry.

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