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rocketed into history in the skies over Mojave in the first privately funded, manned space flight. On Oct. 5, 2005, SpaceShipOne will take its place with other icons in the history of flight, as it is unveiled in the Milestones of Flight Gallery of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. The spacecraft, the creation of designer extraordinaire Burt Rutan and his Scaled Composites team, will hang suspended between Chuck Yeager's Bell X-1, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier, and Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the first aircraft to complete a solo flight across the Atlantic. "It...

SAN LUIS OBISPO - The nation's youth need something new and exciting to inspire them to be the creative geniuses of tomorrow, Burt Rutan believes. Rutan, arguably one of today's most creative geniuses, thinks commercial manned spaceflight is the answer to that challenge. Rutan outlined his vision for the future of personal space travel for the masses Friday at his alma mater, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The noted aviation designer - seen by many as responsible for launching a new era in spaceflight with his SpaceShipOne spacecraft - was honored by the university during its annual Fall...

MOJAVE - The X-37, an unmanned technology concept demonstrator for future space vehicles, made its first aerial foray Tuesday into the skies over Mojave. Slung beneath Scaled Composites' White Knight carrier, the X-37 was carried to an altitude of 37,800 feet in the 81-minute flight, said Jan Walker, spokesman for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which oversees the program. All systems performed as expected and the captive-carry flight was deemed a success. Additional such captive-carry flights - in which the vehicle remains attached to the White Knight - are expected before three planned drop tests that will test the...

SALINA, Kan. - Long accustomed to its position at the center of the state and nation, this city is preparing to be the center of attention for the entire world. The Kansas crossroads city is the launch and landing point for adventurer Steve Fossett's record-setting attempt for the first solo nonrefueled trans-global flight next month. Fossett will pilot the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, designed by Burt Rutan and built by his Scaled Composites in Mojave, where it was unveiled a year ago. The project is backed by Virgin Chairman Sir Richard Branson, who also serves as back-up pilot. Salina Municipal Airport...

LOS ANGELES - With breath-taking speed and in leaps and bounds, the first privately funded, manned space program achieved its program milestones of rocket-powered flight to 328,000 feet and a safe return, but not without coming up against unexpected problems. In the year since they last updated their peers on the innovative program, the members of the SpaceShipOne team successfully flew four rocket-powered flights in the unusual spacecraft, the last one reaching suborbital space and making pilot Mike Melvill the nation's first civilian commercial astronaut. Melvill and his fellow Scaled Composites pilots - and would-be astronauts - briefed members of...

LOS ANGELES - The accolades continue to pile up for Mojave's own SpaceShipOne and the team that launched it into the history books. Designer Burt Rutan and test pilots Brian Binnie, Mike Melvill and Peter Siebold were honored by their peers Saturday night for their work on the pioneering space program, the first privately funded, manned space program to successfully reach and return from suborbital space. The Society of Experimental Test Pilots bestowed two of its most prestigious awards upon the SpaceShipOne crew during its annual fall symposium at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. Rutan was awarded the...

MOJAVE - On Monday morning, Mojave will become the center of the universe for space enthusiasts. On that day, providing Mother Nature cooperates, Scaled Composites will attempt the first privately funded manned space flight. SpaceShipOne, a star-spangled, football-shaped spacecraft will carry its single pilot 328,000 feet - 62.5 miles - above the Earth and into space.

Date set for private space launch By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor SpaceShipOne could make aviation history Scaled Composites, the company behind the first private manned spacecraft, will launch it into space on 21 June carrying an as yet unnamed astronaut. SpaceShipOne is built by aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan who hopes to win the Ansari X-prize of $10m (£5.7m) for the first private flight into space. The craft has to reach an altitude of 100km (329,000ft) twice in two weeks to win. A total of 25 other teams across the world are competing for the prize. First...

SANTA FE, N.M. - The X-Prize Cup, envisioned as an annual international event that will showcase emerging commercial space ventures in a series of races, has implications for Mojave Airport in the future. The event is seen as a continuation of the spirit of the Ansari X-Prize competition, an international race intended to jump-start the commercial space tourism industry. The Ansari X-Prize competition will award $10 million to the first privately funded team to successfully build and launch a spacecraft capable of carrying three people to an altitude of 328,000 feet and safely return to Earth, then turn around and...

MOJAVE - It's the biggest thing to come to town, possibly ever in Mojave's history. Mojave Airport and the surrounding community are readying to host as many as 300,000 visitors as Burt Rutan and his Scaled Composites team attempts to win the $10 million X-Prize sometime this year. Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne already has flown two successful flights firing its hybrid rocket motor and is widely seen as the front-runner in the international competition intended to jump-start the commercial space tourism industry. The competition will award $10 million to the first privately funded team to successfully build and launch a spacecraft...

The government announced Wednesday that it has issued the first license for a manned suborbital rocket, a step toward opening space flight to private individuals for the first time. The Federal Aviation Administration gave a one-year license to Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif., headed by Burt Rutan. Rutan, who hopes to make affordable space travel a reality in a decade, is best known for designing the Voyager airplane that made the first nonstop, unrefueled flight around the world in 1986. "This is a big step," FAA spokesman Henry Price said. The Scaled Composites craft consists of a rocket plane, dubbed...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - The government announced Wednesday that it has issued the first license for a manned suborbital rocket, a step toward opening space flight to private individuals for the first time. The Federal Aviation Administration gave a one-year license to Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif., headed by Burt Rutan. He is best known for designing the Voyager airplane that made the first nonstop, unrefueled flight around the world in 1986.</p>

<p>The reward is high, but so is the risk as some of the 27 teams pursuing a $10 million prize for the first privately funded manned spaceflight near a goal that once seemed outlandish.</p> <p>Organizers of the X Prize believe that teams could attempt the space trip as early as this summer.</p>

MOJAVE - Burt Rutan's latest record-attempting aircraft took its first steps toward the record books Friday with the inaugural test flight of the GlobalFlyer at Mojave Airport. Unveiled before international media in January, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer is designed to take on what Virgin Chairman Sir Richard Branson calls the "last great aviation record on Earth" - a solo, nonrefueled flight around the world. The historic attempt, expected later this year, will be piloted by Steve Fossett, who already holds several aviation records, including the first solo, around-the-world balloon flight. Designed by Rutan and built at his Scaled Composites, LLC...

Marking 100 years of man's success in conquering the skies, 2003 saw milestones for both what has been done and what is yet to come. Celebrations throughout the year culminated in the Dec. 17 anniversary of the Wright brothers' first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., a feat which set in motion changes that are still being felt and improved upon today. In the century since that flight, worldwide air travel has become common; space travel has moved from science fiction to reality; and air power has altered warfare. Although the Centennial of Flight marked a success, the year...

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of powered aviation, the first manned supersonic flight by a privately built, nongovernment-funded aircraft heralded the start of the next era, that of commercial space travel. On the centennial of the Wright brothers' first flight near Kitty Hawk, N.C., one of the famous Rutan brothers - Burt - aimed a private-venture spacecraft in the direction of the unknown. Operating with the same entrepreneurial spirit embodied in the Wright brothers, renowned aircraft designer Burt Rutan and his Scaled Composites company have embarked on the first nongovernmental space program with the SpaceShipOne spacecraft. Wednesday morning,...

Virgin Atlantic Airways plans to use a Scaled Composites aircraft in an attempt next year to complete the first solo nonstop circumnavigation of the globe. The aircraft, dubbed the GlobalFlyer, will be flown by either Steve Fossett or Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson. Branson is acting as the reserve pilot. The aim is to complete the flight in less than 80 hr. The Burt Rutan-designed, composite-material aircraft has a maximum gross weight of 22,066 lb. and an empty weight of 3,577 lb., which allows for 18,000 lb. of fuel. Wingspan is 114 ft. The GlobalFlyer is powered by a single...