SpaceShipOne
Sign in to saveAlso known as Scaled Composites Model 316 SpaceShipOne, Model 316
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to / using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" atmospheric reentry system where the rear half of the wing and the twin tail booms folds 70 degrees upward along a hinge running the length of the wing; this increases drag while retaining stability. SpaceShipOne completed the first crewed private spaceflight in 2004. That same year, it won the US$10 million Ansari X Prize and was immediately retired from active service. Its mother ship was name
Key facts
- Aircraft.name
- SpaceShipOne
- Aircraft.image
- SpaceShipOne Flight 15P photo D Ramey Logan.jpg
- Aircraft.caption
- SpaceShipOne after its flight into space, June 2004.
- Aircraft.type
- Spaceplane
- Aircraft.manufacturer
- Scaled Composites
- Aircraft.designer
- Burt Rutan
- Aircraft.primary_user
- Mojave Aerospace Ventures
- Aircraft.number_built
- 1
- Aircraft.developed_into
- SpaceShipTwo
- Aircraft.preservation
- National Air and Space Museum
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- SpaceShipOne Flight 15P photo Don Ramey Logan.jpg
Show 5 more facts
- Commons category
- SpaceShipOne
- first flight
- 2003-05-20
- total produced
- 1
- service retirement
- 2004-10-04
- native label
- SpaceShipOne
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~31 min read
Article
19 sectionsContents
- Design
- Design goal
- Vehicle description
- Cabin
- Spaceplane navigation
- Hybrid rocket engine
- Launch aircraft
- Flight profile
- Specifications
- Development and winning the X Prize
- Flights
- Astronauts
- Retirement
- Replicas
- Subsequent spacecraft
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- External links
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to / using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" atmospheric reentry system where the rear half of the wing and the twin tail booms folds 70 degrees upward along a hinge running the length of the wing; this increases drag while retaining stability. SpaceShipOne completed the first crewed private spaceflight in 2004. That same year, it won the US$10 million Ansari X Prize and was immediately retired from active service. Its mother ship was named "White Knight". Both craft were developed and flown by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, which was a joint venture between Paul Allen and Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan's aviation company. Allen provided the funding of approximately US$25 million.
Rutan has indicated that ideas about the project began as early as 1994 and the full-time development cycle time to the 2004 accomplishments was about three years. The vehicle first achieved supersonic flight on December 17, 2003, which was also the one-hundredth anniversary of the Wright Brothers' historic first powered flight. SpaceShipOne's first official spaceflight, known as flight 15P, was piloted by Mike Melvill. A few days before that flight, the Mojave Air and Space Port was the first commercial spaceport licensed in the United States. A few hours after that flight, Melvill became the first licensed U.S. commercial astronaut. The overall project name was "Tier One" which has evolved into Tier 1b with a goal of taking a successor ship's first passengers into space.