Collection Item Summary:

Launched from its White Knight mothership, the rocket-powered SpaceShipOne and its pilot ascended just beyond the atmosphere, arced through space (but not into orbit), then glided safely back to Earth. The flight lasted 24 minutes, with 3 minutes of weightlessness. Its three record-setting flights were:

* 100 kilometers (62 miles) altitude*; Mike Melvill, pilot; June 21, 2004

* 102 kilometers (64 miles) altitude; Mike Melvill, pilot: September 29, 2004

* 112 kilometers (70 miles) altitude; Brian Binnie, pilot; October 4, 2004

With SpaceShipOne, private enterprise crossed the threshold into human spaceflight, previously the domain of government programs. The SpaceShipOne team aimed for a simple, robust, and reliable vehicle design that could make affordable space travel and tourism possible.

SpaceShipOne won the $10 million Ansari X Prize for repeated flights in a privately developed reusable spacecraft, the Collier Trophy for greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in 2004, and the National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement.

Collection Item Long Description:

In 2004 SpaceShipOne won the $10 million Ansari X Prize as the first privately developed space vehicle capable of carrying three people into suborbital spaceflight (up to 100 kilometers/62 miles) and repeating the feat within two weeks. Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen funded SpaceShipOne, and Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites designed and built it. With two successful flights piloted by Mike Melvill on September 29, 2004, and Brian Binnie on October 4, SpaceShipOne claimed the prize. The success of SpaceShipOne inspired the creation of Virgin Galactic, a company founded to add private suborbital tourist flights to the existing world of commercial spaceflight business. It also helped clear the way for NASA’s public-private partnerships to develop new spacecraft to carry crews and cargo.