SpaceShip Two of Virgin Galactic reached record speeds and altitude in tests just before it starts its plan of manned flight to space with passengers by next year. The British Broadcasting Corp had confirmed the record flight on its website.

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is planning to provide commercial space flight by 2014. In the latest test, SpaceShip Two went through the paces of all technical missions. It also successfully utilized its 'feathering' re-entry mechanism. This was done while the ship reached its highest speed and farthest altitude to date.

Aside from Branson, the company is backed by aabar Investments PJS of Abu Dhabi. In a statement, aabar Investments Chairman H.E. Khadem Al Qubasi said, "This flight milestone represents a key step formard for the Virgin Atlantic team. The successful completion of all major aspects of the flight mission demonstrates that we are very close to achieving one of Galactic's key goals: commercializing access to space for the broader public. I would like to congratulate the whole team on their continued success."

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson also issued a statement, where he said, "We couldn't be more delighted to have another major supersonic milestone under our belts as we move toward a 2014 start of commercial service."