Branson Reaches 282,000 Feet In First Full Passenger Virgin Galactic Flight - AVweb

This is a noteworthy private enterprise, aeronautical, aerodynamic, engineering, aviation and PR accomplishment, interesting and entertaining to watch, but a bit of a stretch to consider it a space accomplishment. I expected release to occur higher than 46,000+ a few feet but maybe temperatures aloft were too high for that. Mach .5 at those altitudes surprised me and seemed frighteningly slow to this ignoramus who used to worry about any speed much below Mach. 75. But I know nothing of those vehicles’ aerodynamic properties except that the launch vehicle appears to have a straight wing perhaps accounting for slow speed capability.

And now for me it’s back to rag wing, VFR nap of the earth, 100 mph, negative RVSM, negative RNP, negative ADS-B flight while I await the next SpaceX event.