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| And that's just the media parking lot ... |
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Pre-dawn Monday.
The world
awaits. |
The beginning of a very new day. |
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| Libyan Mig killer and
manager of China Lake's
restricted airspace, Rear Admiral Dave Venlet (right), chats with
Dick Rutan. |
General Doug Pearson, the only person
to have ever shot down a
satellite from a fighter jet, currently manages the restricted
airspace of Edwards AFB. |
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| White Knight with SpaceShipOne rotates
for liftoff. |
Under the word "Scaled" is the fairing
that would later buckle in flight. |
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Taxiing for departure. Look
closely — Melville is giving the
"thumbs up." |
A spacecraft launched from a "small
commercial airport." |
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| Old and new. |
The first glimpse. |
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| SpaceShipOne's contrail. |
X-Prize sponsor Ansari. |
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| Note the curved path, possibly
indicative of the actuator failure and Melville's recovery. |
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| Dick Rutan (in front of the crash
truck) looks toward Scaled VP/Program Manager Kevin Mickey
(foreground) as an unexpected communications blackout raises
concerns. |
VIP, fighter pilot, test pilot, and air
show pilot extraordinaire Bob Hoover in attendance. |
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| Off to make history. |
White Knight in victory fly-by. |
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| SpaceShipOne at touchdown alongside
low-altitude chase (an Extra 300). |
SpaceShipOne in glide over Mojave. |
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| With a bad trim system, "he was calling my altitude to
touch down foot by foot," said Melville. |
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| Burt Rutan on the taxiway awaits
touchdown. |
A historic contrail. |
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| Confusion about where to look, as a
concerned Scaled VP/ Program Manager Kevin Mickey strains for visual contact. |
There was a lot of that going around. |
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| Buckled fairing clearly visible on the
bottom aft portion of the craft, just forward of the rocket nozzle.
Post-flight inspection indicated the nozzle itself was in no way
compromised. |
From left, Extra 300, Beech Starship,
and AlphaJet performed as chase aircraft at low, medium, and high
altitudes, respectively. |
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| Paul Allen, Mike Melville, and
Burt Rutan (paying homage) after a safe return. |
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| Satisfaction, elation, relief ... |
Success! |
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| A challenged Melville emerges
triumphant. |
Not bad for 63. |
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| The team. As Melville thanks his comrades,
Rutan
takes a moment to compose himself. |
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| Melville describes the view from
328,000 feet: The clouds over the ocean, "it looked just like
snow to me ... . It sparkled just like snow." |
By the people, for the people.
After
the flight, as the crew went two miles out of its way to tow the craft
past the RV parking, a man held up a sign that read "SpaceShipOne,
Government Zero."
Melville took the sign and hoisted it above his
head as he rode atop the craft. |
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| Patty Gray Smith, representing the DOT
and FAA, bestows Mojave airport operations manager Stu Witt official
papers that declare the location the world's first inland spaceport. |
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