WASHINGTON, May 25 Reuters A spaceplane from Virgin Galactic reached the edge of space on Thursday carrying a crew of six, making its first spaceflight test in nearly two years as the space tourism firm founded by Richard Branson prepares its longawaited commercial service.

The company39;s VSS Unity spaceplane dropped from its twinfuselage carrier aircraft around 1224 p.m. EDT 1624 GMT over the desert of New Mexico and blasted off to the edge of space seconds later at roughly three times the speed of sound.

Successful boost, WE HAVE REACHED SPACE!, Virgin Galactic wrote on Twitter.

A live video stream from private video news group NASA Spaceflight showed VSS Unity jetting away from its carrier craft, its sole rocket engine leaving a trail of white exhaust as it climbed to an altitude of roughly 54.2 miles 87.2 km, beyond the U.S.recognized boundary of Earth39;s outer atmosphere and space.

The spaceplane glided back to land at around 1237 p.m., Virgin Galactic said.

The company39;s Unity 25 mission, lasting roughly 90 minutes in all, is a crucial final test flight before it flies its first commercial mission in late June, hoping to carry out a mission roughly every month thereafter.

The flight comes 22 months after billionaire Branson and employees rode to the edge of space aboard its centerpiece SpaceShipTwo spaceplane. Virgin Galactic had hoped that highprofile mission would open the door to routine flights soon after.

A safety probe into Branson39;s flight by…