The
X Prize is Won!
The cash designed
to inspire space travel was won Oct. 4, 2004 as SpaceShipOne, a privately built
three-person craft, made a required second flight above 62 miles (100 km). This
page serves as an archive and remains as it appeared shortly after the flight.
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Check out other designs for this space race.
7 UP to Offer Free Space Flight
Oct. 4: The
company 7 UP, the official soft drink of the Ansari X
Prize, announced Monday plans to offer consumers the first
free ticket into space. The announcement followed the win by SpaceShipOne
of the $10 million competition.
"At 7 UP, we want to make space travel
a reality for everyone, not just for millionaires," Randy Gier
of Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages, the beverage's parent company,
said in a press release.
Details will be unveiled in 2005.
Sample of
7 UP Space Ticket. CREDIT:Cadbury Schweppes Americas
Beverages
--
SPACE.com Staff
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'Milestone
for humanity'
- John Spencer, Space Tourism Society president
SpaceShipOne
Wins $10 Million Ansari X Prize in Historic 2nd Trip to Space
04 October, 2004: MOJAVE, CALIFORNIA
- The craft soared to 69.7 miles (112.2 kilometers), exceeding the 62-mile
level necessary to win the X Prize. Analysts say the flawless flight heralds
an exciting future of space tourism. [Story first posted at 10:56
a.m. ET and last updated at 8:45 p.m. ET .]
How
the Day Unfolded
Exclusive updates provided by SPACE.com's Leonard David, live from the Mojave
Spaceport on
Oct. 4, 2004:
10:52 a.m.
ET: Ignition - SpaceShipOne dropped dramatically from the White
Knight mothership and fired its rocket engine for the trip into into space.
10:32 a.m. ET: Temperatures
aloft are unpredictable, affecting how well the White Knight carrier plane can
climb the final 4,000 feet prior to dropping SpaceShipOne, an analyst said.
10:26 a.m. ET: The
White Knight carrier plane now must work hard to climb in the thin air. Separation
is due in about 15 minutes (corrected time estimate).
10:21 a.m. ET: Brian
Feeney, who leads a rival X Prize effort called the da
Vinci group, wished the SpaceShipOne team well this morning and vowed not
to stop his own effort. "Even if the prize is won today, we will fly," Feeney
told SPACE.com. "We're moving our program as fast as we can. We'll announce
a launch date in a short period of time. Feeney was wearing a gold-colored outfit
to promote GoldenPalace.com, his team's sponsor. But Feeney's mission has been
a largely volunteer effort, while SpaceShipOne is backed by Microsoft co-founder
Paul Allen. "Not everyone has a billionaire available to them," Feeney said
this morning.
10:12 a.m. ET: White
Knight and SpaceShipOne have reached about 25,000 feet, more than halfway to
the drop point, said commentator Gregg Maryniak.
10:06 a.m. ET: SpaceShipOne
and the White Knight mothership can be seen on live
video soaring above the desert, with a chase plane just behind. All systems
appear to be "go" so far.
9:52
a.m. ET: Airborne
- SpaceShipOne is airborne, slung under its White Knight carrier plane. The
pair now begin the long flight to about 47,000 feet, where SpaceShipOne will
be dropped. Then it will fire its rockets and head spaceward. Flight
Plan / Story
9:43 a.m. ET: The
White Knight carrier ship with SpaceShipOne underneath have begun heading for
the runway.
9:34 a.m. ET: What's
the mood of the crew this morning? "We're ready for this," Kevin Mickey, an
engineer with Scaled Composites, which built SpaceShipOne. "There really was
a calm mood, yet excitement of course."
9:21 a.m. ET: Peter
Diamandis, chairman and president of the St. Louis-based X Prize Foundation,
marveled at the fact that SpaceShipOne fits in a two-car garage. "It's amazing
that it's been made to look so routine," he said of the craft's flights into
suborbital space.
9:15 a.m. ET:
Eric Anderson, president of Space Adventures, a company that is marketing future
space tourist flights, said this morning: "Things are happening at a faster
clip, faster than what the public expected. There's a huge amount of latent
energy about to be released into commercial space. This is a bigger event that
[Dennis] Tito's flight because
it's showing that the technology is coming to meet the market."
9:11: a.m. ET: The
glow of dawn is evident at the Mojave Spaceport. The White Knight carrier plane
and SpaceShipOne were pushed out of their hanger at about 4 a.m. local time
(7 a.m. ET).
9:07 a.m. ET:
In the live webcast, X Prize commentator
Laura Greene noted that the Russian Sputnik satellite launched 47 years ago
today.
8:51 a.m. ET: Conditions
look favorable. Temperature is 53 degrees Fahrenheit and winds are out of the
East at 6 mph, according to Accuweather.
8:13 a.m. ET:
Burt Rutan has said he's hopeful his SpaceShipOne today can top the flight of
X-15 pilot, Joe Walker. On August 22, 1963, Walker reached a height of 354,200
feet -- about 67 miles -- the highest altitude reached the X-15 program, a joint
NASA/Air Force effort prior to the space shuttle program.
8:05 a.m. ET: Weather
- The weather here is crystal clear, no wind, and the stars are twinkling. The
airport is lit up and crowds are maneuvering their way into view sites.
7:47
a.m. ET: Pilot
Picked - SpaceShipOne will be piloted today by 51-year-old Brian Binnie,
officials said this morning. Binnie
is a program business manager and test pilot at Scaled Composites, which built
the vessel. He has 21 years flight test experience including 20 years of naval
service in the Strike-Fighter community. He has logged more than 4,600 hours
of flight time in 59 different aircraft and is a licensed Airline Transport
Pilot. The choice
may surprise some who have been following the race for the Ansari X Prize. SpaceShipOne
was piloted by Mike Melvill last week in its first
X Prize flight, and Melvill flew the craft in its maiden
voyage to space in June.
7:41 a.m. ET: The
Plan - SpaceShipOne's schedule this morning:
- Takeoff, while attached
to White Knight carrier plane: 10 a.m. ET (7 PT)
- Ignition of rocket after
release from carrier: 11 a.m. ET (8 PT)
- Landing back at Mojave:
at 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 PT)
- Press Conference to announce
official altitude: 1:30 p.m. ET (10:30 a.m. PT) Flight
Plan
X Prize News Prior to
the Winning Oct. 4 Flight
SpaceShipOne
Rolling Rumors: Rutan Sets the Record Straight
Oct. 2, 2004: Burt Rutan, the spacecraft's chief designer,
addresses "incorrect rumors about the rolls" that occurred during the first
X Prize flight.
Victory at Hand
Second
Shot at X Prize Slated for Monday
Oct. 1, 2004: SpaceShipOne will try to soar into space
and snag the Ansari X Prize starting at 10 a.m. ET (7 PT) Monday, Oct. 4, just
five days after its first flight.
The
Competition
As
X Prize Slips Away, Canadian Still Vows to Launch
Sept. 30: The leader of the rival da Vinci team is committed
to launching a piloted rocket into suborbital space after delays, even as SpaceShipOne
appears set to capture the $10 million purse.
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Wild
Ride - The First X Prize Flight
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"I thought
it was kind of cool."
SpaceShipOne
Was Not Out of Control, Builder and Pilot Say
7:04 pm ET: MOJAVE, CALIFORNIA – The unplanned
spin of SpaceShipOne during its first of two Ansari X Prize flights
was caused by a known deficiency.
Tense Time
at the Top
SpaceShipOne Succeeds in Trailblazing First Shot at $10 Million
X Prize
11:28 a.m. ET, Sept. 29: 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. It was a wild ride.
Special Report
SpaceShipOne's
Wild Ride
Our archive page captures the excitement and fear that unfolded
during SpaceShipOne's first Ansari X Prize flight, in video, images
and words.
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Prelude
to the X Prize
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The
First Crewed Civilian Space Mission
SpaceShipOne already made history on June 21, with Mike Melvill
being the first civilian to pilot a craft into space. It was a successful
test run for the X Prize flights. SPACE.com covered the historic
event with pictures and reports from the scene.
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Recent Space Tourism
News
