Virgin Galactic has launched a space tourism rocket which will attempt to reach space altitudes.
SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity, took off in the early morning sunshine at the Mojave test centre in California on Thursday.
The company hopes the aircraft will reach around 13,106 metres but has insisted safety is its priority.
The flight is due to last around 90 minutes and the pilots are Mark Stucky and Nasa astronaut Frederick Sturckow.
Speaking after take-off, the company's founder Sir Richard Branson said: "I'm not supposed to say this, but hopefully we will go to space today.
"Hopefully we'll have a bit of magic in the next couple of hours."
The pilots hope to fly the rocket ship to an altitude exceeding 80 km, which Virgin Galactic considers the boundary of space.
The company plans to eventually take paying passengers on short trips to space.
Australian Associated Press
