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Private craft makes space history 22.06.04(BBC News 24) close X Private craft makes space history RELATED LINK VIA KAYOTIX: NASA SCRAMJET Flight Success 27.03.04 (BBCNews24) Original Source: bbc.co.uk/news SpaceShipOne has rocketed into the history books to become the first private manned spacecraft to fly to the edge of space and back. The craft, built by aviation pioneer Burt Rutan, went over space's 100km (62 mile) boundary, said mission control. It was carried to 46,000ft (13.8km) by its launcher White Knight at which point it was unleashed. It fired its rocket to continue its trip. Mr Rutan was on the runway to embrace pilot Mike Melvill on his return. They paid an emotional tribute to each other after the flight. "It was a mind-blowing experience, it really was. Absolutely an awesome thing," said Mr Melvill. "Burt thought of everything to make it work and it all worked exactly as he told us," he added. Mr Melvill said the view from space was "spectacular", and he was only sad that Mr Rutan, who he described as his "best friend in the whole world", could not have been there, too. A delighted Mr Rutan said it had been an emotional journey. "The way you guys felt when you saw it touch down, we felt that several times in mission control during the flight," he said. Cheers and applause Applause and cheering broke out when the first confirmation of its altitude was announced. "Beautiful sight, Mike," mission control said to pilot Mr Melvill as the gliding spaceship made its way to touch down at California's Mojave Airport. It finally came back to Earth at 0815 PDT, after its 90-minute flight. Messages of congratulations came from Nasa's administrator Sean O'Keefe, who called it a "remarkable achievement". Steve Bennett, chief of the British civilian space project, Starchaser Industries, said it was a "marvellous achievement", but that he was slightly envious. "This just proves that you don't have to be Nasa or a government organisation," he said. His team plans to launch its own rocket in about 18 months. About 3,000 people, including over 500 media crews, descended on the desert to watch the historic flight. The pilot, 62-year-old Scaled Composites vice-president Mr Melvill, stamped his name in the record books as the first non-government-funded pilot to fly a spaceship out of Earth's atmosphere. After Monday's flight he told the crowd: "I think I'll back off a little bit now and ride my bike." Mr Melvill said he had heard a loud bang during the record-breaking mission. On the ground, he pointed out a section at the back of the craft where a part covering the nozzle had buckled, suggesting it may have caused the odd noise. Mr Rutan confirmed in a press conference that it was not a "perfect flight", and that his team would be assessing data and addressing some "anomalies" that had occurred. Mr Rutan characterized them as the most serious the team had encountered since the test flights of SpaceShipOne began, and put SpaceShipOne 35km (22 miles) off target for re-entry.

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