Second licence issued for manned rocket

A California company has received only the second US government licence issued to fly a manned rocket on sub-orbital flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration granted Xcor Aerospace the licence for its Sphinx, a rocket-powered plane still on the drawing board.

The licence covers up to 35 flights of the yet-to-be-built plane, which should test operation and propulsion concepts for an even later craft that could ferry paying passengers on sub-orbital flights, according to the FAA..