China’s Tianwen-1 spacecraft captured a stunning view of the Earth and moon before making its first trajectory maneuver on the long journey to Mars.

Aerospace company Virgin Galactic has announced a first stage design scope for the build of a new aircraft capable of reaching speeds of Mach 3 (3,700 km/h, or 2,300 mph).

Rolls-Royce will collaborate with The Spaceship Company (TSC) – a subsidiary of Virgin Galactic – in designing and developing the engine propulsion technology for this high-speed commercial plane. This follows the successful completion of a Mission Concept Review (MCR) that included representatives from NASA and resulted in authorisation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It means the companies can now work together to produce a certification framework.

Rolls-Royce has a proven track record of delivering high Mach propulsion, powering the only civil-certified commercial aircraft capable of supersonic flight – Concorde, which flew from 1969 to 2003. This new plane, if successfully developed and put into operation, would be more than 50% faster than Concorde. Journeys across the Atlantic, which typically take almost eight hours in a conventional airliner, could be completed in less than two hours.

Houston, do you have Prince Albert in a can?

The interstellar visitor ‘Oumuamua, discovered in 2017, may represent an entirely new type of astrophysical object, two astronomers say.

Space tourism venture Virgin Galactic announced it signed an agreement with Rolls-Royce to develop an aircraft for supersonic travel, giving a first look on Monday of the coming vehicle’s design.

Supersonic travel is a long-term bet for Virgin Galactic, which has been developing reusable spacecraft capable of sending people on short trips to the edge of space for more than a decade.

Virgin Galactic said it completed a mission concept review alongside NASA of its supersonic vehicle design and now will work with the Federal Aviation Administration to create a framework for certifying the aircraft for flight. Previously Boeing’s venture arm invested $20 million in Virgin Galactic, specifically toward helping the company build a supersonic aircraft.

That’s a wrap on SpaceX’s crewed demo mission, which clears the way for the company to regularly launch astronauts for NASA.

WATCH: Administrator post-splashdown news conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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WATCH: WKRG News 5 is covering the historical SpaceX Return in the Gulf Coast.

Crews are in position to capture this memorable event near Pensacola. The splashdown is scheduled around 1:40 PM.

More information: https://bit.ly/3glajLa