The privately built rocket plane SpaceShipOne was preparing Monday for its second flight into space within two weeks, the final requirement to claim the $10 million Ansari X Prize for commercial spaceflight. The craft was scheduled to depart California's Mojave Desert aboard a carrier jet at around 7:00 am local time, separate an hour later, and land by 8:30 am after crossing the 100-kilometer altitude threshold.
Designer Burt Rutan and roughly 30 team members spent Sunday night at his Mojave home ahead of the attempt. The X Prize, established in 1996 and modeled on the prize Charles Lindbergh claimed for his 1927 solo Atlantic crossing, requires the same reusable craft to reach 100 kilometers twice in 14 days carrying the weight equivalent of two passengers.
The previous flight on Wednesday saw test pilot Mike Melvill successfully breach the boundary despite an unexpected rolling motion during ascent. Rutan said his team believed the stability issue had been corrected.
SpaceShipOne, funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen through Mojave Aerospace Ventures, made history in June as the first non-government manned spacecraft. Separately, Rutan and Richard Branson announced a $25 million partnership to form Virgin Galactic, aiming to offer public spaceflights using SpaceShipOne technology.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.