SpaceShipTwo First Glide Flight Pending???

For those of us who check the Scaled Composites website a bit more often than we should, any update to the status of the SpaceShipTwo tests can be rather exciting. If you are not one who frequents the Scaled site, here is a general overview of what has taken place as of July 13, 2010.

For one thing, the WhiteKnightTwo mothership "Eve" has flown thirty test flights. Prior to flight 25, most of the flights seem to have been primarily oriented toward shaking down the mothership. Flights 25 and 27 were the first and second captive carry flights of SpaceShipTwo, where both vehicles were flown but SS2 was not released from the mothership.

In June of 2010, Eve was flown without SS2 on flight 26 and flights 28, 29, and 30. The purposes of these flights seems to have been to practice both the release of SS2 and practice the a first glide flight of SS2. Flight 30 in particular is reported as "GF01 glide card practice." For the uninitiated (aka the person with a real life...) this refers to the card or checklist of items to be performed during the first release and glide flight of SS2.

Seeing as this flight is reported to have taken place on June 24, 2010, it is likely or at least possible that this first glide flight has already taken place but the rather tight lipped Scaled organization has yet to report it. If so, I hope that it was or is going to be successful. Good luck to all associated with the program!