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Private Space Plane Flies Again By Leonard David Senior Space Writer posted: 04:30 pm ET 18 April 2004 SpaceShipOne, a privately-built, passenger-carrying suborbital space vehicle, has undergone another test flight. On March 11, high over the Mojave Desert in California, the craft was released from the White Knight mothership, and then glided to a runway landing. SpaceShipOne’s pilot was Pete Siebold. Objectives of the unpowered glide test included a check of pilot proficiency, as well as verifying the vehicle’s reaction control system. A key aspect of the glide flight was to assess handling of the rocket plane now outfitted with...

With the first manned space program without government support, Burt Rutan once again is making history by conquering the skies. His SpaceShipOne already has set the record of the first manned supersonic flight by a privately built, nongovernment-funded aircraft, on its way to being the first privately built spacecraft to enter and return from a suborbital flight. Rutan's Mojave-based Scaled Composites has been the subject of much attention in the aviation and space world lately, and Chief Test Pilot Mike Melvill has been in the thick of it. Melvill was at the controls for the earliest glide flights of SpaceShipOne,...

Marking 100 years of man's success in conquering the skies, 2003 saw milestones for both what has been done and what is yet to come. Celebrations throughout the year culminated in the Dec. 17 anniversary of the Wright brothers' first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., a feat which set in motion changes that are still being felt and improved upon today. In the century since that flight, worldwide air travel has become common; space travel has moved from science fiction to reality; and air power has altered warfare. Although the Centennial of Flight marked a success, the year...

        Exclusive: Photos of SpaceShipOne's Landing MishapBy Leonard DavidSenior Space Writerposted: 05:20 pm ET18 December 2003 Photos: Courtesy Alan Radecki, used with permissionAfter cracking through the sound barrier on Dec. 17, the privately funded SpaceShipOne's return glide to a Mojave, California landing strip ended in tense moments.

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of powered aviation, the first manned supersonic flight by a privately built, nongovernment-funded aircraft heralded the start of the next era, that of commercial space travel. On the centennial of the Wright brothers' first flight near Kitty Hawk, N.C., one of the famous Rutan brothers - Burt - aimed a private-venture spacecraft in the direction of the unknown. Operating with the same entrepreneurial spirit embodied in the Wright brothers, renowned aircraft designer Burt Rutan and his Scaled Composites company have embarked on the first nongovernmental space program with the SpaceShipOne spacecraft. Wednesday morning,...

The pilot of a passenger-carrying spaceship being readied for suborbital flight reported some handling problems in an otherwise successful shakeout test. The folks at Scaled Composites in Mojave, California once again put SpaceShipOne through its paces. This third drop test of the craft took place on Sept. 23. The somewhat cagey firm, in pursuit of the $10 million X Prize, does not pre-announce flights or overtly publicize after-the-fact results from trial runs of the SpaceShipOne

Pitch hangup will result in delay and changes to designSpaceShip1 HiccupsScaled Composites is planning changes for its SpaceShipOne rocket glider, following a pitchup incident in flight test that showed the current configuration is not safe for the planned flight to 100 km. altitude.The glider was starting an aft center-of-gravity (CG) stall test on its third flight on Sept. 23 when it pitched up uncontrollably at about 85 KIAS--15 kt. above the 70-kt. forward CG stall speed demonstrated on the prior flight (AW&ST Sept. 1, p. 19). The results were reported by the company three days later at the Society of...

SpaceShipOne: A progress report by Jeff Foust Monday, September 29, 2003 One of the most exciting recent developments in the space industry has been Burt Rutan’s efforts to win the X Prize. While Rutan’s company, Scaled Composites, is just one of two dozen competitors for the $10 million prize, his bid is widely considered a, if not the, frontrunner. His public unveiling in April of the SpaceShipOne and the White Knight carrier aircraft attracted worldwide attention, ending up on the covers of magazines like Wired and Popular Science. One factor that had added to the mystique surrounding Rutan’s effort has...

MOJAVE, Calif., April 18 — Aircraft designer Burt Rutan unveiled Friday a fully-built launch system that, if flights outside the atmosphere prove successful, would be the first private manned space program. Both the spacecraft, called SpaceShipOne, and its launch platform, a futuristic jet known as the White Knight, were developed and built in secret and have already begun tests at lower altitudes. SOME OF THE BIGGEST names in space, including astronaut Buzz Aldrin, space tourist Dennis Tito and military officials, were on hand for Friday’s demonstration at the Mojave Airport, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. In its first...