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Space Topics: Private Missions
SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne was the first privately-funded spacecraft to send a man into space and bring him back safely. The historic journey took place in fall 2004 with three launches from the Mojave Airport Civilian Aerospace Test Center in California.
The incentive was the Ansari X Prize -- a $10-million bounty to jumpstart space tourism. More than 20 teams from seven countries registered to compete, but American Mojave Aerospace Ventures' SpaceShipOne, funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and led by research aircraft developer Burt Rutan, was the first to test launch, and the first to launch for the prize. After a successful first flight on September 29, SpaceShipOne and company went on to complete the second, validation launch less than 2 weeks later. On the morning of October 4, 2004, they took the Prize and a place in space exploration history.
Thousands of people drove to the Mojave desert, while millions more gathered via the Internet and television to witness the flights that took private astronauts Mike Melville and Brian Binnie into space three times. The achievement opened the door to commercial human space launches. Within hours of landing, Rutan and Virgin Airlines founder-president, Richard Branson, announced a collaboration that would produce five spaceships for commercial use in low Earth orbit by early 2010.
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