SpaceShipOne, a privately-developed rocket plane will launch into history on June 21 on a mission to become the world’s first commercial manned space vehicle. It will rocket to 100 kilometers (62 miles) into sub-orbital space above the Mojave Civilian Aerospace Test Center, a commercial airport in the California desert. If successful, it will demonstrate that the space frontier is finally open to private enterprise. This event could be the breakthrough that will enable space access for future generations.
The company behind this historic attempt is Scaled Composites, LLC, an aerospace and specialty composites development company located in Mojave, Califormia. Scaled Composites was founded in 1982 by aviation legend Burt Rutan. Rutan’s SpaceShipOne is being financed by investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen, founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc. Along with Allen, Vulcan’s technology research and development team -- which takes the lead in developing high impact science and technology projects for Allen -- has been active in the project’s development and management.
"This flight is one of the most exciting and challenging activities taking place in the fields of aviation and aerospace today," said Paul G. Allen, sole sponsor in the SpaceShipOne program. "Every time SpaceShipOne flies we demonstrate that relatively modest amounts of private funding can significantly increase the boundaries of commercial space technology. Burt Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites have accomplished amazing things by conducting the first mission of this kind without any government backing."
