Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne

for aerodynamic testing.]]

SpaceShipOne is an experimental spaceplane, which on June 21 2004 made the first privately-funded human spaceflight (for which see the separate article on SpaceShipOne flight 15P). It is an air launched suborbital spaceplane, using a hybrid rocket motor. It has been developed by Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan's aviation company, in their Tier One program, with no government funding.

SpaceShipOne is a leading contender for the Ansari X Prize, the prize for the first non-governmental reusable manned spacecraft. It is anticipated to win the prize on October 4 2004, the 47th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1.

This article is about flights made by SpaceShipOne. For information on the design of SpaceShipOne, see the separate article on Tier One.

Table of contents

1 History
2 Design changes
3 Pilots
4 Flights
5 External links

History

SpaceShipOne is registered with the FAA as N328KF. 'N' is the prefix for US-registered aircraft; '328KF' stands for 328 thousand (K) feet (approximately 100 kilometers, the officially designated edge of space). The original choice of registry number, N100KM, was already taken. It is registered as a glider, reflecting the fact that most of its independent flight is unpowered.

All the SpaceShipOne flights have been based at the Mojave Airport Civilian Flight Test Center.

SpaceShipOne made its first flight, flight 01C, on May 20 2003. It was an uncrewed captive carry flight test. Glide tests followed, starting with flight 03G on August 7 2003. The first powered flight, flight 11P, was made on December 17 2003, the 100th anniversary of the first ever powered flight by the Wright Brothers.

On April 1, 2004, Scaled Composites received the first license for sub-orbital piloted rocket flights to be issued by the US Department of Transportation. This license permits the company to conduct powered test flights for a period of one year. On June 17 2004 Mojave Airport reclassified itself (part-time) as the Mojave Spaceport.

Flight 15P on June 21 2004 was SpaceShipOne's first spaceflight, and the first privately-funded human spaceflight. This was a successful test flight, with a couple of technical problems, now resolved. Scaled Composites reports that the next flights (16P and 17P) will be attempting to win the X Prize. If either of those is not successful, they may make a third competitive flight.

Design changes

Prior to flight 15P, the aft end of the spacecraft had an abrupt cutoff, with the rocket nozzle protruding from the nearly-flat rear end. This turned out to be aerodynamically disadvantageous, so on flight 15P an additional fairing was added, smoothly extending the fuselage shape to meet the flared end of the nozzle. On that flight, the lower part of the new fairing crumpled during boost. It can be expected that future flights will use a new version of the fairing, but returning to the previous shape remains a possibility.

Pilots

The SpaceShipOne pilots are:

The pilots come from a variety of aerospace backgrounds. Melvill is a test pilot, Binnie was a Navy pilot, and Shane and Siebold are engineers at Scaled Composites. They have qualified to fly SpaceShipOne by training on the Tier One flight simulator and in White Knight and other Scaled Composites aircraft.

Flights

carrying SpaceShipOne to altitude, about 14 km, as demonstrated in this captive carry test of the two-vehicle system. The two vehicles have identical cockpits, as can be seen from the pattern of windows.]]

Flights of SpaceShipOne are numbered, starting with flight 01 on May 20 2003. One or two letters are appended to the number to indicate the type of mission. An appended C indicates that the flight was a captive carry, G indicates an unpowered glide, and P indicates a powered flight. If the flight actually flown differs in category from the intended flight then two letters are appended, the first giving the intended mission and the second the mission actually performed.

In the table below, the "top speed" reported is the Mach number at burn-out (the end of the rocket burn). This is not an absolute speed.

SpaceShipOne flights
Flight Date Top Speed Altitude Pilot
01C May 20 2003 uncrewed
02C July 29 2003 Mike Melvill
03G August 7 2003 Mike Melvill
04GC August 27 2003 Mike Melvill
05G August 27 2003 Mike Melvill
06G September 23 2003 Mike Melvill
07G October 17 2003 Mike Melvill
08G November 14 2003 Peter Siebold
09G November 19 2003 Mike Melvill
10G December 4 2003 Brian Binnie
11P December 17 2003 Mach 1.2 20.7 km Brian Binnie
12G March 11 2004 Peter Siebold
13P April 8 2004 Mach 1.6 32.0 km Peter Siebold
14P May 13 2004 Mach 2.5 64.3 km Mike Melvill
15P June 21 2004 Mach 2.9 100.1 km Mike Melvill
16P September 29 2004 pending
17P October 4 2004 pending

SpaceShipOne flights
Flight	Date	Top Speed	Altitude	Pilot
01C	May 20 2003			uncrewed
02C	July 29 2003			Mike Melvill
03G	August 7 2003			Mike Melvill
04GC	August 27 2003			Mike Melvill
05G	August 27 2003			Mike Melvill
06G	September 23 2003			Mike Melvill
07G	October 17 2003			Mike Melvill
08G	November 14 2003			Peter Siebold
09G	November 19 2003			Mike Melvill
10G	December 4 2003			Brian Binnie
11P	December 17 2003	Mach 1.2	20.7 km	Brian Binnie
12G	March 11 2004			Peter Siebold
13P	April 8 2004	Mach 1.6	32.0 km	Peter Siebold
14P	May 13 2004	Mach 2.5	64.3 km	Mike Melvill
15P	June 21 2004	Mach 2.9	100.1 km	Mike Melvill
16P	September 29 2004			pending
17P	October 4 2004			pending

External links

Tier One home page at Scaled Composites's website
SpaceShipOne video footage of flight 14P
Private Craft to Shoot for Space by Irene Mona Klotz, Discovery News
Wired News: SpaceShipOne Back on Course
SpaceShipOne's FAA registration