Tense Moments During Trailblazing Private Space Fl

[kai_25]

<br />"Now that was fun."<br />-- Pilot Mike Melvill<br /><br />MOJAVE, CALIFORNIA – In a frightening mission that could nonetheless herald a new era of space tourism, a privately built, three-person rocket ship flew to space and back today. <br /><br />The craft, SpaceShipOne, made an unscripted series of rolls near the top of its flight. The engine was shut down early. The flight terrified some who watched from the ground and on a live webcast. <br /><br />The pilot seemed unfazed, however. <br /><br />"That was a really good ride. I feel like I nailed it," said Mike Melvill after he landed. "But right up at the top I got a surprise when it really spun up and did a little victory roll."<br /><br />The event was the first of two flights scheduled to capture the $10 million Ansari X Prize. <br /><br />The X Prize money goes to the first privately built vehicle that can haul a pilot and two passengers to the edge of space, then repeat the feat within two weeks, in this case by Oct. 13. SpaceShipOne’s design team, Scaled Composites, based here at the Mojave Spaceport, said before the flight that they were ready to turn the vehicle around for reflight, perhaps making the second rocket run Oct. 4.<br /><br />Trouble at the top<br /><br />Under clear desert skies here, SpaceShipOne was under the controls of a single pilot, but it was weighted as if three people were aboard.<br /><br />Slung underneath the White Knight carrier aircraft, SpaceShipOne and Melvill headed down the runway just after daybreak and lifted off to the cheers of thousands of gathered well-wishers. The joined vehicles made a slow spiraling ascent high above the desert landscape. The White Knight then released SpaceShipOne. After dropping and gliding a few seconds, Melvill ignited the vehicle’s hybrid rocket motor.<br /><br />The target was 62.5 miles (100 kilometers) altitude – a sky-high goal required by the X Prize Foundation of St. Louis, Missouri in order to vie for the cash prize. The altitude is generally considered