SpaceShipOne flight 16P
Encyclopedia
Flight 16P of SpaceShipOne was a spaceflight
in the Tier One
program that took place on September 29, 2004. It was the first competitive flight in the Ansari X PRIZE
competition to demonstrate a non-governmental reusable manned spacecraft, and is hence also referred to as the X1 flight. A serious roll excursion occurred during boost, so the flight did not achieve the expected altitude. However, it exceeded 100 km altitude, making it a successful X PRIZE flight.
at least 60 days before the flight. Due to problems encountered during flight 15P
on June 21, 2004, Scaled Composites
did not immediately set a date for their competitive flights, suspecting that another test flight might be required. By July 7, 2004 Burt Rutan
reported that the faults had been resolved and the next flights would be competitive. On July 27, 2004 the X PRIZE Foundation announced that Scaled Composites had given notice that they would make their first competitive flight on September 29, 2004.
The pilot initially selected for the flight withdrew due to stress about two weeks before the flight, after his wife gave birth and he also fell ill. Mike Melvill
, who also piloted SpaceShipOne's sole previous spaceflight
, stepped in to fly in his place. The choice of pilot was not publicly announced until about two hours before planned takeoff. Melvill was seen as a surprise choice, because after the previous flight he had said he wanted to take a break from flying SpaceShipOne and ride his motorbike more.
rules, the flight was required to carry 180 kg
payload, to simulate two 90 kg human
passenger
s. Scaled Composites
announced early on that this, their first X PRIZE flight, would carry inanimate payload rather than live passengers. The payload included:
The practice of carrying arbitrary non-functional items into space, which has previously been carried out by many Space Shuttle
missions, is evidence that space travel is still widely seen as special. The value of symbolic items increases enormously if the item has flown in space, due to the restricted access to space. The teddy bear being carried for charity will be auctioned at a much higher price than it would otherwise command. Scaled Composites employees were made to sign a contract forbidding them from selling the mementos they put on the flight.
SpaceShipOne and White Knight bore several logos for the flight. These were:
. There were three chase plane
s.
All times are in PDT, which is seven hours behind UTC. This was the local civil time at the spaceport on the day of the flight. All measurements are first stated in the U.S. customary units in which they were originally reported, with conversions to SI
units also given.
The flight was planned to take off from Mojave Spaceport
in the early morning, when wind conditions are most favourable. Takeoff
was scheduled for 06:47, but was delayed because of winds gusting to 50 mph (20 m/s), which subsided after sunrise. White Knight, carrying SpaceShipOne, taxied to the runway at 07:00, and took off at 07:11.
After takeoff, White Knight and SpaceShipOne ascended to the launch altitude, planned to be around 14 km. At 08:09 SpaceShipOne was released, glided for 6 s, then went into nose-up attitude and the rocket motor was ignited. The rocket motor was capable of burning for approximately 87 s, having been upgraded since the previous flight. It was planned to shut off the motor at an altitude of 345,000 feet (105 km), presumably to avoid pushing the envelope too far.
The spacecraft started roll
ing rapidly 50 s into the burn, while travelling at Mach
2.7. This was probably due to, or at least exacerbated by, pilot error
. The pilot was not highly concerned by this, being confident that he could correct the situation, and he allowed the burn to continue during the roll. He later said "I thought it was kind of cool". The altitude was too high (and thus the atmosphere too thin) for the roll to cause significant aerodynamic stress, and it was correspondingly infeasible to damp the roll rate using the aerodynamic control surfaces.
When there was sufficient velocity to assure the achievement of the target altitude, as predicted by the navigational system, the ground controllers recommended that the pilot abort the burn. He promptly did so, 76 s into the burn, cutting it short by 11 s. After engine cutoff, the craft continued climbing while rolling. The pilot did not immediately work to damp the roll. Around apogee he took photographs of the Earth using a digital still camera.
The apogee altitude was estimated by the nearby Edwards Air Force Base
, based on radar
data, to be 337,569 feet (102.9 km). Due to the early burn cutoff, this was far less than originally anticipated. However, it was more than the 100 km necessary to qualify as a spaceflight and satisfy X PRIZE requirements. Early reports said that after the instruction from the ground the pilot had delayed the burn cutoff in order to exceed 100 km; in fact the instruction was issued just after the 100 km altitude was assured, and the pilot's reaction time accounts for the additional 2.9 km.
After apogee, the pilot feathered the wing for atmospheric reentry
. He then damped out the roll, without difficulty, using the reaction jets. Overall, the craft did 29 complete rolls. Atmospheric reentry
proceeded normally, with the craft rapidly righting its attitude due to the stable high-drag configuration. It changed back to gliding configuration normally, glided back to the spaceport, and landed safely at 08:34. White Knight then landed at 08:39.
, a crowd of thousands watched from Mojave Spaceport
. Television coverage also occurred. SPACE.com provided live video from SpaceShipOne's cockpit.
Distinguished attendees included:
At 06:09, shortly before planned takeoff, spectators were told to stay at the spaceport after the flight, to hear a "major announcement" about the future of the X PRIZE Foundation
. As of October 4, 2004 it appears that no such announcement was actually made.
Spectator reaction was more muted than for SpaceShipOne flight 15P
, the first SpaceShipOne flight to have spectators, which was also the first privately-funded human spaceflight.
Scaled Composites scheduled the second competitive flight, flight 17P
, for October 4, 2004, the 47th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1
, and it was completed successfully on schedule. There was a possibility of a third competitive flight (18P) occurring by October 13, 2004 if either of the first two flights failed, but in the end this was not required.
The da Vinci Project
, another X PRIZE contender, planned to make its first competitive flight on October 2, 2004, but encountered problems and had to delay its flights.
Spaceflight
Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...
in the Tier One
Tier One
Tier One is Scaled Composites' program of suborbital human spaceflight using the reusable spacecraft SpaceShipOne and its launcher White Knight. The craft was designed by Burt Rutan, and the project is funded 20 million US Dollars by Paul Allen...
program that took place on September 29, 2004. It was the first competitive flight in the Ansari X PRIZE
Ansari X Prize
The Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks...
competition to demonstrate a non-governmental reusable manned spacecraft, and is hence also referred to as the X1 flight. A serious roll excursion occurred during boost, so the flight did not achieve the expected altitude. However, it exceeded 100 km altitude, making it a successful X PRIZE flight.
Crew
Scheduling
X PRIZE rules required that the date and place of competitive flights be announced to the X PRIZE FoundationX Prize Foundation
The X PRIZE Foundation is a non-profit organization that designs and manages public competitions intended to encourage technological development that could benefit mankind....
at least 60 days before the flight. Due to problems encountered during flight 15P
SpaceShipOne flight 15P
-Flight profile:All times are in PDT, which is seven hours behind UTC. This was the local civil time at the spaceport on the day of the flight. All measurements are first stated in the U.S...
on June 21, 2004, Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites is an aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman that is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California, United States...
did not immediately set a date for their competitive flights, suspecting that another test flight might be required. By July 7, 2004 Burt Rutan
Burt Rutan
Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft...
reported that the faults had been resolved and the next flights would be competitive. On July 27, 2004 the X PRIZE Foundation announced that Scaled Composites had given notice that they would make their first competitive flight on September 29, 2004.
The pilot initially selected for the flight withdrew due to stress about two weeks before the flight, after his wife gave birth and he also fell ill. Mike Melvill
Mike Melvill
Michael Winston "Mike" Melvill is one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipOne on its first flight past the edge of space, flight 15P on June 21, 2004, thus becoming the first commercial astronaut and the 434th...
, who also piloted SpaceShipOne's sole previous spaceflight
SpaceShipOne flight 15P
-Flight profile:All times are in PDT, which is seven hours behind UTC. This was the local civil time at the spaceport on the day of the flight. All measurements are first stated in the U.S...
, stepped in to fly in his place. The choice of pilot was not publicly announced until about two hours before planned takeoff. Melvill was seen as a surprise choice, because after the previous flight he had said he wanted to take a break from flying SpaceShipOne and ride his motorbike more.
Manifest
Under Ansari X PRIZEAnsari X Prize
The Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks...
rules, the flight was required to carry 180 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
payload, to simulate two 90 kg human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
passenger
Passenger
A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....
s. Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites is an aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman that is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California, United States...
announced early on that this, their first X PRIZE flight, would carry inanimate payload rather than live passengers. The payload included:
- X PRIZE flight monitoring equipment, known as the "gold box"
- the Explorers ClubThe Explorers ClubThe Explorers Club is a professional society dedicated to scientific exploration of Earth, its oceans, and outer space. Founded in 1904 in New York City, it currently has 30 branches world wide...
flag, by arrangement between the Explorers Club and the X PRIZE Foundation - video equipment, producing a video stream that was broadcast live
- mementos from team members, including:
- photographPhotographA photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s - personal toolToolA tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...
s, including Burt RutanBurt RutanElbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft...
's college slide ruleSlide ruleThe slide rule, also known colloquially as a slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer. The slide rule is used primarily for multiplication and division, and also for functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry, but is not normally used for addition or subtraction.Slide rules come in a... - tree seedlings
- the ashes of Burt Rutan's mother, Irene Rutan, who had died a few years earlier
- an heirloom watchWatchA watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...
- a copy of Charles LindberghCharles LindberghCharles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
's book The Spirit of St. LouisThe Spirit of St. Louis (book)The Spirit of St. Louis is an autobiographical account by Charles Lindbergh about the events leading up to and including his 1927 solo trans-Atlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis, a custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane...
- photograph
- a teddy bearTeddy bearThe teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
being carried for the British charityCharitable organizationA charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
Great North Air AmbulanceGreat North Air AmbulanceThe Great North Air Ambulance Service is an English charity based in the United Kingdom. It provides air ambulance services across the North of England from the Scottish border south to North Yorkshire in the east and Cumbria in the west. It currently operates two helicopters, one near Penrith,... - leadLeadLead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
ballast to make up the payload mass
The practice of carrying arbitrary non-functional items into space, which has previously been carried out by many Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
missions, is evidence that space travel is still widely seen as special. The value of symbolic items increases enormously if the item has flown in space, due to the restricted access to space. The teddy bear being carried for charity will be auctioned at a much higher price than it would otherwise command. Scaled Composites employees were made to sign a contract forbidding them from selling the mementos they put on the flight.
SpaceShipOne and White Knight bore several logos for the flight. These were:
- Scaled CompositesScaled CompositesScaled Composites is an aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman that is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California, United States...
- "SpaceShipOne: a Paul G. Allen project" on SpaceShipOne
- "White Knight" on White Knight
- Virgin GalacticVirgin GalacticVirgin Galactic is a company within Richard Branson's Virgin Group which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public, along with suborbital space science missions and orbital launches of small satellites...
, on the tails, following the signing earlier in the week of an agreement for Virgin Galactic to license Tier One technology for space tourismSpace tourismSpace Tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry... - VirginVirgin GroupVirgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
, on the fuselage - Ansari X PRIZEAnsari X PrizeThe Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks...
, as required by X PRIZE rules - The Spirit of St. Louis, a science center
- M&M'sM&M'sM&M's are dragée-like "colorful button-shaped candies" produced by Mars, Incorporated...
, apparently in an act of sponsorship inspired by Melvill's antics with M&M's during flight 15PSpaceShipOne flight 15P-Flight profile:All times are in PDT, which is seven hours behind UTC. This was the local civil time at the spaceport on the day of the flight. All measurements are first stated in the U.S... - 7-Up Plus
- Champ CarChamp CarChamp Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
World Series
Flight profile
The SpaceShipOne pilot was Mike MelvillMike Melvill
Michael Winston "Mike" Melvill is one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipOne on its first flight past the edge of space, flight 15P on June 21, 2004, thus becoming the first commercial astronaut and the 434th...
. There were three chase plane
Chase plane
A chase plane is an aircraft that "chases" another aircraft, a spacecraft or a rocket during flight. Safety can be one function of a chase plane; others are to photo or video the target vehicle, or to collect engineering data from it...
s.
All times are in PDT, which is seven hours behind UTC. This was the local civil time at the spaceport on the day of the flight. All measurements are first stated in the U.S. customary units in which they were originally reported, with conversions to SI
Si
Si, si, or SI may refer to :- Measurement, mathematics and science :* International System of Units , the modern international standard version of the metric system...
units also given.
The flight was planned to take off from Mojave Spaceport
Mojave Spaceport
thumb|right|235px|A retired [[Boeing 767-200]] that flew for [[Ansett Australia]] being cut open for scrap at Mojave AirportThe Mojave Air and Space Port , also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, is located in Mojave, California, at an elevation of...
in the early morning, when wind conditions are most favourable. Takeoff
Takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle goes from the ground to flying in the air.For horizontal takeoff aircraft this usually involves starting with a transition from moving along the ground on a runway. For balloons, helicopters and some specialized fixed-wing aircraft , no...
was scheduled for 06:47, but was delayed because of winds gusting to 50 mph (20 m/s), which subsided after sunrise. White Knight, carrying SpaceShipOne, taxied to the runway at 07:00, and took off at 07:11.
After takeoff, White Knight and SpaceShipOne ascended to the launch altitude, planned to be around 14 km. At 08:09 SpaceShipOne was released, glided for 6 s, then went into nose-up attitude and the rocket motor was ignited. The rocket motor was capable of burning for approximately 87 s, having been upgraded since the previous flight. It was planned to shut off the motor at an altitude of 345,000 feet (105 km), presumably to avoid pushing the envelope too far.
The spacecraft started roll
Flight dynamics
Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of mass, known as pitch, roll and yaw .Aerospace engineers develop control systems for...
ing rapidly 50 s into the burn, while travelling at Mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
2.7. This was probably due to, or at least exacerbated by, pilot error
Pilot error
Pilot error is a term used to describe the cause of an accident involving an airworthy aircraft where the pilot is considered to be principally or partially responsible...
. The pilot was not highly concerned by this, being confident that he could correct the situation, and he allowed the burn to continue during the roll. He later said "I thought it was kind of cool". The altitude was too high (and thus the atmosphere too thin) for the roll to cause significant aerodynamic stress, and it was correspondingly infeasible to damp the roll rate using the aerodynamic control surfaces.
When there was sufficient velocity to assure the achievement of the target altitude, as predicted by the navigational system, the ground controllers recommended that the pilot abort the burn. He promptly did so, 76 s into the burn, cutting it short by 11 s. After engine cutoff, the craft continued climbing while rolling. The pilot did not immediately work to damp the roll. Around apogee he took photographs of the Earth using a digital still camera.
The apogee altitude was estimated by the nearby Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
, based on radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
data, to be 337,569 feet (102.9 km). Due to the early burn cutoff, this was far less than originally anticipated. However, it was more than the 100 km necessary to qualify as a spaceflight and satisfy X PRIZE requirements. Early reports said that after the instruction from the ground the pilot had delayed the burn cutoff in order to exceed 100 km; in fact the instruction was issued just after the 100 km altitude was assured, and the pilot's reaction time accounts for the additional 2.9 km.
After apogee, the pilot feathered the wing for atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
. He then damped out the roll, without difficulty, using the reaction jets. Overall, the craft did 29 complete rolls. Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
proceeded normally, with the craft rapidly righting its attitude due to the stable high-drag configuration. It changed back to gliding configuration normally, glided back to the spaceport, and landed safely at 08:34. White Knight then landed at 08:39.
Spectacle
As with SpaceShipOne's previous flightSpaceShipOne flight 15P
-Flight profile:All times are in PDT, which is seven hours behind UTC. This was the local civil time at the spaceport on the day of the flight. All measurements are first stated in the U.S...
, a crowd of thousands watched from Mojave Spaceport
Mojave Spaceport
thumb|right|235px|A retired [[Boeing 767-200]] that flew for [[Ansett Australia]] being cut open for scrap at Mojave AirportThe Mojave Air and Space Port , also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, is located in Mojave, California, at an elevation of...
. Television coverage also occurred. SPACE.com provided live video from SpaceShipOne's cockpit.
Distinguished attendees included:
- Sean O'KeefeSean O'KeefeSean O'Keefe is the CEO of EADS North America, a subsidiary of the European aerospace firm EADS, a former Administrator of NASA, and former chancellor of Louisiana State University . O'Keefe is also a former member of the board of directors of DuPont...
, NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Administrator - Erik LindberghErik LindberghErik Lindbergh is an aviator, a promoter of space tourism, and an artist. Grandson of pioneering aviator Charles Lindbergh, who was the first person to fly non-stop between New York and Paris in 1927, in 2002 Erik honored the 75th anniversary of his grandfather's historic flight by retracing the...
, grandson of the pioneering aviatorAviatorAn aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
Charles LindberghCharles LindberghCharles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
and a member of the X PRIZE FoundationX Prize FoundationThe X PRIZE Foundation is a non-profit organization that designs and manages public competitions intended to encourage technological development that could benefit mankind....
board - James CameronJames CameronJames Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, action film director - John LandisJohn LandisJohn David Landis is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. He is known for his comedies, his horror films, and his music videos with singer Michael Jackson.-Early life and career:...
, film director - William Readdy, astronaut
At 06:09, shortly before planned takeoff, spectators were told to stay at the spaceport after the flight, to hear a "major announcement" about the future of the X PRIZE Foundation
X Prize Foundation
The X PRIZE Foundation is a non-profit organization that designs and manages public competitions intended to encourage technological development that could benefit mankind....
. As of October 4, 2004 it appears that no such announcement was actually made.
Spectator reaction was more muted than for SpaceShipOne flight 15P
SpaceShipOne flight 15P
-Flight profile:All times are in PDT, which is seven hours behind UTC. This was the local civil time at the spaceport on the day of the flight. All measurements are first stated in the U.S...
, the first SpaceShipOne flight to have spectators, which was also the first privately-funded human spaceflight.
Later flights
To win the X PRIZE, a spacecraft must make two successful competitive flights within 14 days. With this flight on September 29, 2004 successful, a second spaceflight had to follow by October 13, 2004 in order to win.Scaled Composites scheduled the second competitive flight, flight 17P
SpaceShipOne flight 17P
Flight 17P of SpaceShipOne was a spaceflight in the Tier One program that took place on October 4, 2004. It was the second competitive flight in the Ansari X Prize competition to demonstrate a non-governmental reusable manned spacecraft, and is hence also referred to as the X2 flight...
, for October 4, 2004, the 47th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 ) was the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1s success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the Space...
, and it was completed successfully on schedule. There was a possibility of a third competitive flight (18P) occurring by October 13, 2004 if either of the first two flights failed, but in the end this was not required.
The da Vinci Project
Da Vinci Project
The da Vinci Project was a privately funded, volunteer-staffed attempt to launch a reusable manned suborbital spacecraft. It was formed in 1996 specifically to be a contender for the Ansari X PRIZE for the first non-governmental reusable manned spacecraft. The project was based in Toronto,...
, another X PRIZE contender, planned to make its first competitive flight on October 2, 2004, but encountered problems and had to delay its flights.
External links
- Wired News: SpaceShipOne Back on Course
- Go for launch! X PRIZE Foundation announces teams ready to compete for $10 million
- Spaceflight Now contemporaneous report
- SPACE.com: Tense Moments During Trailblazing Private Space Flight
- SPACE.com: SpaceShipOne Was Not Out of Control, Builder and Pilot Say
- :: Discovery Channel CA :: (summary and video of the flight)
- BBC News: SpaceShipOne set to take X-Prize
- SPACE.com: SpaceShipOne Rolling Rumors: Rutan Sets the Record Straight
- Spaceflight Now: Rutan explains SpaceShipOne rolls