Virgin Galactic's bid to become the first company to offer commercial space travel has moved forward after the VSS Enterprise completed its first manned free flight.

VSS Enterprise (or SpaceShipTwo) was released by its mothership - WhiteKnightTwo - at an altitude of 45,000ft (13,700m). Pete Siebold piloted the vessel and was assisted by co-pilot Mike Alsbury. The two main targets of the test flight were the successful release of the VSS Enterprise and the completion of a free flight and landing at Mojave Air and Space Port in California, US.

Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson said: "For the first time since we seriously began the project in 2004, I watched the world's first manned commercial spaceship landing on the runway at Mojave Air and Space Port and it was a great moment. "Now, the sky is no longer the limit and we will begin the process of pushing beyond to the final frontier of space itself over the next year."

Virgin Galactic chief executive officer George Whitesides added: "Now, our challenge going forward will be to complete our experimental program, obtain our FAA licence and safely bring the system into service at Spaceport America, New Mexico." Image: Virgin Galactic/Mark Greenberg