( CNN ) -- A pair of pilots flew the world 's first manned commercial spacecraft over California 's Mojave Desert on Sunday , though they were the only ones aboard . The mission was a test flight for Richard Branson 's dream of affordable space travel and put his vision a step closer to reality , he said after watching the spaceship land . `` 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 , '' Branson said , according to a statement released by his company , Virgin Galactic , which is behind the project . The spaceship , called the VSS Enterprise , completed a successful free flight from a mothership at 45,000 feet ( 13,700 meters ) to a landing in Mojave , California , Virgin Galactic said . `` This was one of the most exciting days in the whole history of Virgin , '' Branson said Sunday , according to the company 's statement . `` 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 . '' His company said that the two chief goals of the flight were for the VSS Enterprise to perform a clean release from its mothership and for the pilots to free fly and glide back to its destination in Southern California . Preparations for Sunday 's flight were extensive , Virgin Galactic said . The mothership , named Eve , flew 40 times , including what the company said were four captive carry flights of `` spaceship and mothership mated together . '' Virgin Galactic said that other goals for the flight were also met , including the verification that all systems worked before and after clean release from the mothership and evaluation of handling , stalling , and stability . `` Virgin Galactic is now well on the way to becoming the world 's first commercial space line with 370 customer deposits totaling $ 50 million , '' the company said in its statement . Boeing : Let us fly you into space . Virgin Galactic said that future commercial operations will operate at New Mexico 's Spaceport America , where final preparations are under way for a finished runway inauguration ceremony on October 22 . Eventually , the 60-foot long rocket plane will be taken 60,000 feet above the Earth by its carrier and fire rockets to propel itself into space . The test-flight program is expected to continue through 2011 , going first to a free glide and then to a powered flight before commercial flights begin . Virgin Galactic has said that it envisions one flight a week for its spaceship , with six tourists aboard . Each will pay $ 200,000 for the ride and train for at least three days before going . About 80,000 people have placed their names on the waiting list for seats . `` What we want to be able to do is bring space travel down to a price range where hundreds of thousands of people would be able to experience space , and they never dreamed that [ they ] could , '' Branson said last year . Experts : Space tourism set to takeoff . He has said he hopes the technology will lead to a new form of Earth travel , jetting people across oceans and continents faster through suborbital routes . Shuttle layoffs leave some workers adrift . The spaceship was piloted Sunday by Pete Siebold , assisted by Mike Alsbury as co-pilot , Virgin Galactic said . `` The VSS Enterprise was a real joy to fly '' Siebold said Sunday , according to the company 's statement , `` especially when one considers the fact that the vehicle has been designed not only to be a Mach 3.5 spaceship capable of going into space but also one of the worlds highest altitude gliders . ''
The mission is a test flight for Richard Branson 's concept of affordable space travel . The VSS Enterprise performs a successful free fall from a rocket at 4000 feet . The spaceship lands in the Mojave Desert . ` ` Now , the sky is no longer the limit , '' Branson says .