The test is the second flight this month and hints from Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson indicate the first powered flight might be just around the corner.

Friday’s test flight last 10.8 minutes and marked the first time the development team at Scaled Composites allowed the oxidizer on board SpaceShipTwo to run through the propulsion system, a so-called “cold flow” test. As the oxidizer – a very chilly liquid nitrous oxide in the case of SpaceShipTwo – exited the nozzle at the rear of the future spacecraft, it created a condensation trail across the blue Mojave desert sky.