SpaceShipOne Makes History: First Private Manned Mission to Space

For Details, Contact: Kaye LeFebvre
Phone: 661-824-4541
Fax: 661-824-4174
Email: info@scaled.com
Website: http://www.scaled.com



Press Release
21 June 2004
For Immediate Release



SpaceShipOne Makes History:
First Private Manned Mission to Space


The world witnessed the dawn of a new space age today,
as investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen and Scaled
Composites launched the first private manned vehicle
beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. The successful
launch demonstrated that the final frontier is now open
to private enterprise.


Under the command of test pilot Mike Melvill, SpaceShipOne
reached a record breaking altitude of 328,491 feet (approximately
62 miles or 100 km), making Melvill the first civilian
to fly a spaceship out of the atmosphere and the first
private pilot to earn astronaut wings.


This flight begins an exciting new era in space travel,”
said Paul G. Allen, sole sponsor in the SpaceShipOne
program. “Burt Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites
are part of a new generation of explorers who are sparking
the imagination of a huge number of people worldwide
and ushering in the birth of a new industry of privately
funded manned space flight.”


The historic flight also marks the first time an aerospace
program has successfully completed a manned mission
without government sponsorship. “Today’s
flight marks a critical turning point in the history
of aerospace,” said Scaled Composites founder
and CEO Burt Rutan. “ We have redefined space
travel as we know it.”


“Our success proves without question that manned
space flight does not require mammoth government expenditures,”
Rutan declared. “It can be done by a small company
operating with limited resources and a few dozen dedicated
employees.”


A large crowd watched the momentous flight live from
the grounds of the Mojave Airport, joining millions
of others around the world who tuned in by television,
radio, and the internet. Dignitaries attending the event
included U.S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher, the Commanding
Officer of Edwards Air Force Base, General Pearson and
the China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center, Admiral Venlet;
former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and Konrad Dannenberg,
one of Werner Von Braun’s lead scientists on this
country’s original space development effort. Hundreds
of media representatives were also on hand to record
history in the making.