Commercial space travel took a step closer with the opening of the runway at the world's first spaceport in the US state of New Mexico.
The event was marked with a flypast of an aircraft carrying SpaceShip Two.
The vehicle has been designed to take fee-paying tourists on trips to the edge of space and back.
British billionaire Sir Richard Branson - whose Virgin group has backed the venture - said the first passenger trip should take place within 18 months.