On June 21, 2004 Mike Melvill became the first civilian to pilot a craft into space. Built by Burt Rutan and financed by Paul Allen, SpaceShipOne made history as the first manned, private spaceship. SPACE.com's coverage of the effort, from design to launch and a tense touchdown:

Pre-Launch Coverage

Web, TV, Radio Coverage

Viewer's Guide Hotels are selling out in and around the town of Mojave. What spectators can expect, and where to watch, listen and read about the event if you can't go. Flight Plan for SpaceShipOne

Features

Paul Allen: Private Spaceflight's Financier June 20: Burt Rutan's effort has been financed quietly and sometimes secretly by the rich investor and philanthropist Allen (left). Historical Milestone or Stunt Flying? June 19: Just how wispy or long-lived of a trail will this flight leave in aerospace history books? Will it be remembered as a defining moment in human spaceflight or a stunt? Rocket Science: Reaching for Space with Rubber Fuel June 16: Instead of conventional liquid or solid rocket fuel, the spacecraft uses a combination of rubber and nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, as its powerhouse. Mojave Prepares to Make Space History June 10: The small desert town of Mojave, California is bracing for a cosmic Woodstock with plans for an all-night party and, yes, T-shirts. Exclusive: Photos of SpaceShipOne's Landing Mishap After cracking through the sound barrier on Dec. 17, 2003 SpaceShipOne's return glide to a Mojave, California landing strip ended in tense moments.

Updates from SPACE.com reporters at the Mojave Airport (June 21):

9:42 a.m. ET: The White Knight mothership with SpaceShipOne attached is rolling past the crowd on taxi to the runway. It is beautiful. Take-off is imminent.

9:37 a.m. ET: Skies are clear. Hundreds of media are at the Mojave airport and thousands of other spectators. Traffic was backed up getting to the scene. T-shirt sales are brisk.

9:32 a.m. ET: The White Knight mothership engines have started and the craft is heading toward the runway. The take-off is behind schedule but expected to proceed.

8:55 a.m. ET: Winds are a bit brisk but skies are clear. SpaceShipOne and its White Knight mothership are expected to roll out of the hanger any minute.

-- Leonard David

Lastest News

Pilot Announced on Eve of Private Space Mission
June 20: MOJAVE, CALIFORNIA All is in readiness here for the first non-governmental flight to leave the Earth's atmosphere.

Would You Climb Aboard SpaceShipOne Monday?
June 19: Two-thirds of the folks in this survey would risk going on the maiden voyage if they could.

Big Secret: Who Will Fly SpaceShipOne?
June 18: According to sources close to the project, the decision remains a tight-lipped, vacuum packed secret.

FAA Grants Mojave Airport First Inland Spaceport License
June 18: Paperwork clears government procedures just in time.

Private Spacecraft's Inaugural Launch Set for June 21
June 2: SpaceShipOne, a privately-developed rocket plane will launch into history on June 21 on a mission to become the worlds first commercial manned space vehicle, it's builders announced today.

Spaceport to Rise in California's Mojave Desert
May 24: A desert airdrome in Mojave, California is on the final glide path to getting government approval for becoming an inland gateway to space.

Archive of Stories:

Data From Recent Test Flight of Private Spacecraft Released
The May 13th flight of the privately-financed SpaceShipOne has verified that the craft and its operators are close to attempting suborbital flight. Their goal: Two consecutive missions, two weeks apart, aimed at winning the Ansari X Prize purse.

Private Rocket SpaceShipOne Makes Third Rocket-Powered Flight
Chalk up another booming flight of the privately-backed SpaceShipOne, the piloted rocket plane designed to soar to the edge of space and glide to a runway landing.

Data Released On Second SpaceshipOne Rocket Test Flight
Just released test data shows that SpaceShipOne and its builder -- Scaled Composites of Mojave, California -- are on a solid pathway to attempt grabbing the $10 million X Prize purse -- a worldwide competition to foster passenger-carrying suborbital rocketry.

Private Spaceship Completes Second Rocket-Powered Test Flight
According to a press release from the X Prize organization, the Mojave, California-based Scaled Composite's SpaceShipOne team had a perfect rocket-powered flight today, reaching an altitude of 105,000 ft.

Feds Give Private Spaceship Go-Ahead to Expand Flight Testing
The Federal Aviation Administrations Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) has given license approval today to Scaled Composites of Mojave, California, permitting the firm to expand flight testing of SpaceShipOne -- a privately-financed rocket plane to carry passengers to suborbital altitude.

Private Space Plane Flies Again
SpaceShipOne, a privately-built, passenger-carrying suborbital space vehicle, has undergone another test flight.

Paul Allen Revealed as SpaceShipOne Investor
As SpaceShipOne shot through the sound barrier December 17 it was also confirmed that investor Paul Allen is the sponsor behind the project.

Privately Funded SpaceShipOne Breaks Sound Barrier
A privately financed passenger-carrying sub-orbital rocket plane screamed its way through the sound barrier today, the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers historic 12-second flight over Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

SpaceShipOne Racks Up Sixth Test Flight
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.

SpaceShipOne Soars on Fifth Test Flight
A fifth glide flight of the privately built SpaceShipOne took place on November 14 at a Mojave, California test site.

Private Spaceship Control Problems Prompt Fixes
Engineers at Scaled Composites have been wrestling with issues of airflow over tail control surfaces of their SpaceShipOne suborbital vehicle. A fourth high-altitude drop test of the craft on October 17 has assessed several modifications to the tail section.

X-Prize Update: SpaceShipOne's Third Drop Test
A passenger-carrying spaceship being readied for suborbital flight has undergone another in a series of shakeout tests. The pilot reported some handling problems.

SpaceDev Snags Scaled Composites' Suborbital Rocket Plane Contract
Scaled Composites announced today the selection of SpaceDev of Poway, California as the vendor of choice to supply key elements of the SpaceShipOne's hybrid rocket motor.

Hybrid Rocket Motor for X Prize Entry SpaceShipOne Tested
At a Mojave, California test site, a hybrid rocket motor design that could boost Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne to the edge of space was given a full-duration shakeout on September 4.

Testing Continues for Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne
Burt Rutans group at Scaled Composites is busily working on more aggressive shakeouts of the suborbital, passenger-carrying craft, including a second glide test of the craft on August 27.

X Prize Contestant Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne Flies
A project to create a passenger-carrying suborbital rocket took a major step forward August 7 the first glide flight of SpaceShipOne, built by Scaled Composites of Mojave, California.

X Prize Contestant Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne Flies
A project to create a passenger-carrying suborbital rocket took a major step forward August 7 the first glide flight of SpaceShipOne, built by Scaled Composites of Mojave, California.

Private Spaceship Undergoes Sky-High Test
Testing of a privately financed spaceship has moved into the air -- a step toward cashing in on a $10 million purse for building passenger-carrying suborbital rocketry.

Passenger-Carrying Spaceship Makes Desert Debut
Labeled as the SpaceShipOne Project, the unveiling comes courtesy of Scaled Composites, Inc. -- highly regarded as a leader in innovative aircraft development -- and based in the Mojave, California desert, about 80 miles north of Los Angeles.

Related Ansari X Prize Stories

New Mexico to Host Private 'X Prize' Spaceflight Race
New Mexico has been selected to host a competition to achieve the first privately funded manned spaceflight.

X Prize Will Be Won by 'Summer's End', Event Organizer Says
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL -- The race to loft a three-person spaceship on a suborbital flight twice in two weeks will be won by the end of the summer, the competitions founder said Wednesday.

X Prize Entrants Race Against Time and Each Other
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The X Prize contest that is meant to spark suborbital passenger flight is heating up. Twenty-seven teams from seven nations are in an intense race to win a unique top spot in the record books of entrepreneurial one-upmanship.

Freedom to Fly? Civilian Rocketeers Face Regulatory Roadblocks
For companies and individuals building suborbital rockets aimed at the civilian transportation market, government indecision and bureaucratic wrangling about flight certification, licensing, and overall regulations is proving to be a greater obstacle than either the laws of physics or financing their sky-high projects.

After Columbia, X Prize Entrants Remain Committed to Space
While the shuttle accident was an stark reminder of perils often overlooked in space travel today, competitors in the X Prize competition to put humans in space -- many of whom will ride inside the vehicles they're building -- maintain that their missions are still go.

Rocketeers: Setting Their Sights on Suborbital Flights
If you're in the market for radically cheaper access to space, you may not have to wait too long. With the recent unveiling of Scaled Composite's SpaceShipOne, entrepreneurial efforts to crack the commercial human spaceflight market are moving ahead full-throttle. Along with that project, many private rocketeers are eager to break the technical and bureaucratic bonds that hold back low-cost, reusable space transportation.