Virgin Galactic says its spacecraft designed to launch tourists into space completed an important test flight on Thursday. The rocket ship, called SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity, climbed more than 82 kilometers during the flight above California’s Mojave Desert. Virgin Galactic said by reaching this height, the spacecraft had reached the boundary of space for the first time. The 80-kilometer space boundary is used by the U.S. Air Force and other U.S. agencies. That differs from a long-held view that the boundary is reached at 100 kilometers. Virgin Galactic officials say recent research favors the lower number. At the start of the flight, a special plane carrying the VSS Unity climbed to nearly 13,700 meters before releasing the spaceship. The VSS Unity then fired up its rocket engine and quickly traveled up and out of sight from a group of watchers on the ground.