SpaceShipOne

SpaceShipOne (SS1), the first private crewed space vehicle, which flew past the boundary of space (100,000 metres, or 328,000 feet) over the United States in 2004 in competition for the Ansari X Prize. Inspired by the Orteig Prize won by Charles Lindbergh for his solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, which was sponsored by American hotel owner Raymond Orteig, the $10 million Ansari X Prize was sponsored by Iranian-born American entrepreneurs Anousheh and Amir Ansari and was offered to the first private enterprise that successfully completed two piloted flights with the equivalent weight of two passengers to the boundary of space in a two-week period. Having won the prize, SS1 now hangs in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., a monument to the future of space tourism.

With financing from Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, SS1 was designed and developed by Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif., an aerospace development company founded by American aircraft designer Burt Rutan in 1982. The space vehicle was part of a broader program known as Tier One, which was made up of SS1, a launch aircraft called White Knight (WK), a hybrid rocket engine system using rubber and liquid nitrous oxide as the fuels, and an avionics suite. Scaled Composites had previously developed dozens of unique composite material aircraft.

To launch SS1 directly from the ground would have required a great deal more fuel, nearly doubling the weight of the vehicle and making it difficult to reach space. For this reason, it was important to develop the WK to take SS1 up to about 47,000 feet (14,000 metres) and drop it from underneath. The SS1 pilot would then light the hybrid rocket, which would send SS1 into a near-vertical trajectory.

A unique feature of SS1 that made the flights possible was its “feather” system. After the rocket finished its burn and before SS1 reached its highest point, the pilot would extend the feather; that is, the rear half of the wings of SS1 would fold vertically to a “shuttlecock” position, increasing drag to reduce speed and thermal load for reentry. After reentry, the pilot would retract the feather and bring the craft into a glider formation, landing smoothly at low speed.

A series of test flights took place to verify the systems of the WK and SS1. The cabin layout for WK was identical to that of SS1, allowing it to serve as a training platform for the space vehicle. Flight testing of the WK began on August 1, 2002. After 23 flights, the WK took SS1 to an altitude of 48,000 feet (15,000 metres) for its first captive-carry flight. SS1 completed three captive carries, nine glides, and three rocket-powered flights before attaining space.

SpaceShipOne’s first rocket-powered flight was on December 17, 2003—a date chosen by Scaled Composites management in tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk. American test pilot Brian Binnie was at the controls as the SS1-mounted rocket was first ignited for a burn lasting 15 seconds. Reaching an altitude of 67,800 feet (20,700 metres) and supersonic speeds, SS1 had a fairly smooth trip until landing. Upon touchdown the left landing gear collapsed, sending SS1 into the dirt. There was little damage to the vehicle, however, and, due to the ease of repairing composite structures, SS1 was able to execute a glide flight less than three months later.

With each successive flight, systems were tested and improved, gradually expanding the capabilities of the craft. Since SS1 was the first private space vehicle, there was a delay between the first and second rocket-powered flights, as it was necessary for Scaled Composites to be licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA AST) to extend the rocket burn beyond 15 seconds.

On April 8, 2004, American test pilot Pete Siebold took SS1 over 115,000 feet (35,000 metres) with a 40-second burn. One month later South African-born American test pilot Mike Melvill took the craft to 211,400 feet (64,400 metres) and Mach 2.5 (2.5 times the speed of sound) with a 55-second rocket burn.

SS1 rocketed into the record books on June 21, 2004. With Melvill at the controls, SS1 was able to squeeze past the edge of space with only 491 feet (150 metres) to spare, thus becoming the first private crewed space vehicle and making its pilot the first commercial astronaut-pilot. (The FAA AST created special wings to commemorate these pioneers.) Melvill celebrated the event by releasing chocolate candy in the cabin during his 3.5 minutes of weightlessness.

Having proved that the vehicle could accomplish the goals as set forth for the Ansari X Prize, dates were scheduled for the first flight of the competition. On September 29, 2004, with Melvill again piloting the craft, SS1 attained 337,700 feet (102,900 metres). Thousands were watching as the craft experienced a series of vertical rolls during the rocket boost that were corrected by the pilot. Indeed, all three of Melvill’s flights experienced anomalies that he was able to correct with his fly-by-wire skills and assistance from the ground crew.

The second Ansari X Prize flight was flown on October 4, 2004, by Brian Binnie and achieved a new apogee milestone of 367,500 feet (112,000 metres), surpassing the X-15 rocket plane’s altitude record by 13,000 feet (4,000 metres). Like Melvill, Binnie took advantage of the weightlessness to fly a paper SS1 around the cockpit. Both pilots experienced high gravity forces (g-forces) on the return, up to 5.4 g, and were able to bring the craft back into glider formation for a smooth landing.

SS1 was succeeded by SpaceShipTwo (SS2), designed to carry two pilots and six passengers. SS2 was unveiled in 2009 and was scheduled to begin suborbital space tourism flights in the 2020s. SS1 hangs in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.