MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) - A fledgling aerospace company took another step toward making private space flights Monday as a rocket-powered plane soared 9,000 feet over the desert.
Xcor Aerospace's EZ-Rocket, outfitted with twin, 400-pound-thrust rocket engines, streaked off a windy Mojave Airport runway and into a cloudy sky.
Shimmering hot exhaust trailed during the demonstration flight for about 100 spectators.
Dick Rutan, who made history in 1986 as co-pilot on the first nonstop, around-the-world flight without refueling, was at the controls.
The engines burned noisily for several minutes as the plane circled the field at more than 212 mph, then sputtered and cut off. The plane glided for several more minutes, then landed safely and coasted to a stop.
``This was the first baby step to space for civilians,'' Rutan said as he climbed out of the cockpit of the plane, a modified Long-EZ designed by his brother, Burt Rutan.
The experimental Long-EZ is the same two-seater, push-prop plane that singer-songwriter John Denver was piloting when he died in a 1997 crash; the modified version is serving as a test bed for Xcor's rocket engines.
Monday's flight was the fifth for the EZ-Rocket, which cost less than $500,000 to build. Its engines burn isopropyl alcohol and liquid oxygen, consuming about $75 worth of fuel during each fleeting flight.
The company hopes to eventually build a craft capable of flying regularly to altitudes of 60 miles that could allow scientists to conduct experiments in microgravity and lure paying tourists eager to see space.
Xcor officials want their future plane, which would cost tens of millions of dollars, to fly as regularly as possible to generate revenue.
Rockets typically have been designed for single-use purposes; those designed for repeated use require significant work between firings.
Xcor intends to fly the EZ-Rocket 30 to 50 times, with as many as five flights in one day to demonstrate the ``gas and go'' capability of the engines.
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