The privately-built SpaceShipOne has chalked up a sixth glide test. Piloted by veteran rocketeer, Mike Melvill, the flight took place November 19 over Mojave, California desert.

Carried by the White Knight mothership to 48,300 feet, SpaceShipOne was launched on an un-powered flight to a landing strip touchdown. During the glide to terra firma, the vehicle's new enlarged tails were evaluated, as were other handling qualities of the craft.

According to Scaled Composites of Mojave, California -- builder and operator of the White Knight/SpaceShipOne -- Melvill reported improved stability of the space vehicle, as well as improved control powers and enhanced stick forces throughout the flight profile. As in several earlier flights, the vehicle's tail section was moved in and out of a "feathered" position - shifted to a 65-degree angle to the main body.

During the November 19 test, the feather was extended after a pull-up to the vertical at 30,000 feet - with Melvill and vehicle experiencing forces three times that of Earth's gravity. The vehicle recovered to a stable attitude and descent after a few mild oscillations.

The landing pattern was flown at a higher airspeed than previous flights which allowed for a more controlled flare and landing at the nominal touchdown point. 

Quick turnaround

The sixth flight came only 5 days after a previous drop test - the shortest turnaround for the vehicle to date: The previous high-altitude drops of SpaceShipOne: August 7, August 27, September 23, October 17, November 14, and now the November 19 test. All flights were done in 2003.

Aerospace maverick, Burt Rutan, head of Scaled Composites, leads the pioneering SpaceShipOne work.

As for follow-on test flights, including critical in-the-air ignition of SpaceShipOne's hybrid motor, mum's the word from Scaled Composites.

A new statement from the company has been posted on its web site, clearly designed to help curb early speculation that the tests are leading to a suborbital flight timed with next month's Wright Brothers anniversary:

"Contrary to information you may have read in magazines or other websites about our schedule for the first flight of SpaceShipOne to space, Scaled Composites has never announced an advance schedule for any flight tests of SpaceShipOne and White Knight. The rumors you may have heard about when we plan significant milestones were merely a guess that was made by one magazine and then reprinted by others."

Rumors do persist, however, that a near-term objective is gunning SpaceShipOne under hybrid motor power to break the sound barrier.

The progression of SpaceShipOne test flights are meant to ultimately snag the X Prize -- a $10 million purse for the first private vehicle to propel passengers to the edge of space and meet a set of guidelines established by the X Prize Foundation of St. Louis, Missouri. Teams around the world are vying for the X Prize money, with numbers of suborbital concepts being pursued.