SpaceShipOne —
The First Non-Governmental Rocket Ship to Fly beyond the Edge of Space.

The development and launch of the experimental SpaceShipOne was arguably the biggest 'first' in the history of Mojave Air and Space Port. Scaled Composites Model 316 SpaceShipOne completed the first privately-funded human spaceflight on June 21, 2004. It made another successful flight into space piloted by Mike Melville on September 29th, 2004, and won the $10-million Ansari X Prize just days later, on October 4th, 2004, by completing another successful flight into space, piloted by Brian Binnie, reaching 100 kilometers in altitude twice in a two-week period with the equivalent of three people on board, with no more than ten percent of the non-fuel weight of the spacecraft replaced between flights. The flight was timed partially to coincide with the 47th anniversary of the Soviet launch of Sputnik.

SpaceShipOne was developed by Scaled Composites (Burt Rutan's aerospace company) with no government funding. Featuring a hybrid rocket motor, it also used a unique "shuttlecock" reentry system, whereupon the rear half of the wing and the twin tail booms folded upward along a hinge running the length of the wing, increasing drag while remaining stable. During its testing regime, SpaceShipOne set a number of important 'firsts,' including being the first privately-funded aircraft to exceed Mach 2 and Mach 3, the first privately-funded spacecraft to exceed 100km altitude, and the first privately-funded reusable spacecraft. SpaceShipOne now hangs in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, above the Apollo 11 command module and alongside the Kitty Hawk. British billionaire Sir Richard Branson (Founder, Virgin Group of Companies) and Burt Rutan (President, Scaled Composites) have teamed up to develop SpaceShipTwo through the company The Spaceship Company.