It was a moment like no other for a group of well-wishers, including this reporter, standing with their noses up, squinting at the sky, at California’s Mojave Airport on June 21, 2004.
Escape the White Knight mothership, the rocket engine propelling the experimental suborbital vehicle SpaceshipA The vehicle came to life, expertly controlled by test pilot Mike Melvill.
This pioneering first spaceflight lasted 24 minutes, returned to the Mojave, and slipped into the history books.
Now, twenty years later, Burt RutanThe lead designer at Scaled Composites reflects on that epic day in an exclusive interview with Space.com.
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After the flight, Rutan saw a sign being held up in the crowd. It read: “SpaceShipOne, Government Zero.”
“I thought, ‘This is great. Let’s see if I can display this with the spaceship,'” Rutan said. “It wasn’t ours. I later found out it was made by libertarians.”
These words say a lot. At the same time, they underline a fact that spread its wings on that unforgettable day.
“We remained undercover for two years of a three-and-a-half-year program. No one knew what we were up to,” Rutan said. “Not only did we not have government assistance or government equipment; the government had no idea that we were doing a human space program,” he added.
SpaceShipOne and the intentions of Rutan and his small team of like-minded visionaries were made public in April 2003 with the launch of the vehicle. “It was actually ready to fly, and we informed the world that we would try to send our test pilots into space,” Rutan said.
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Swallow factor
On that big unveiling day, the White Knight carrier performed an in-flight aerobatic display, riding a special vehicle no one had ever ridden before, adding to the ambience and excitement in the skies of what was to come.
“Overall, our program was very similar to the proof-of-concept research aircraft we had previously built,” Rutan said. But, admittedly, there was a pretty big gulp factor when SpaceShipOne first flew.
Rutan recalled that before the first spaceflight, an aerodynamicist watched SpaceShipOne and its hinged novel. “feathering” system. This unique feature enabled the rear half of the wing and twin tail booms to fold upward for atmospheric reentry; this position was designed to increase drag but keep the vehicle stable during descent.
“This specialist told me that it would spin like a top, and if it was covered with feathers, it could not be controlled,” Rutan said. “You know I didn’t have a good answer for him.”
Rutan said it was based on little information.
“I didn’t have wind tunnel data on the feathered configuration. I had limited computational fluid dynamics data… no analysis of the dynamics. I couldn’t tell if he was right.”
Anxiety resolved
Pilot Mike Melvill said nothing when SpaceShipOne crashed from the White Knight carrier aircraft at 40,000 feet (12,000 meters), according to Rutan.
“If nothing else, this will make your ass squirm,” Rutan said. “And I’m thinking, ‘For God’s sake, tell us how it flies.’ And I’ll never forget him saying, ‘It’s flying like a dream.’ At that very moment, one of my biggest concerns was resolved.”
SpaceShipOne accelerated from transonic to supersonic speed and rocket It is powered by a motor for 15 seconds and reaches just over 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth. That’s why he was cleared Karmán lineA widely accepted definition of the boundary of space.
“I thought if our flying quality was bad, we would accelerate too fast,” Rutan said, “and you’ll just zip through.”
When the rocket engine shut down, SpaceShipOne went to low speed and the plume system was activated. The vehicle was successfully landed on the asphalt paradise.
above the fold
“I was aware that achieving a non-governmental human spaceflight was a historic achievement,” Rutan said. The flight success attracted the attention of “above the screen” newspapers around the world.
“This was the number two story throughout 2004. If they hadn’t pulled Saddam Hussein out of the spider hole that year,” Rutan said, “this would have been the number one story!”
Later that year, SpaceShipOne conducted two back-to-back suborbital flights well over 100 kilometers; It was first piloted solo by Melvill and later by Brian Binnie. $10 million Ansari X Prize purse.
For Rutan, SpaceShipOne’s journey that day was a huge turning point. “A party should be held every 10 years. A big party should definitely be held on the 50th and 100th anniversaries.”
inspiring inspiration
“I think only true space fanatics are aware that the first SpaceShipOne suborbital spaceflight, piloted by Mike Melvill, took place 20 years ago this week,” said Alan Ladwig, author of “Do You See It in Orbit? Our Spaceflight Dream.” Orbit Productions, 2019). “This was an important turning point for us” space tourism“
As Rutan notes, Melvill’s critical test flight attracted media and public attention at the time, as it marked the first time a privately built, privately financed spacecraft reached the final frontier. “The event was heralded as a new era where ‘ordinary’ people, private citizens, will have the opportunity to fly to gain experience weightlessness” said Ladwig.
When the X-Prize was announced in 1996, later to be renamed the Ansari
“Like many space achievements, these predictions turned out to be inspiring,” Ladwig said.
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Industrial-strength space tourism
After SpaceShipOne’s successful first spaceflight, Ladwig recalls Rutan promising that suborbital flights would “inspire and open the door to a new industry.”
“This prediction came true. Both Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos Blue Origin “We currently operate passenger service, but the high ticket price is a deterrent for many people to realize their dream of space flight,” Ladwig said. (Virgin Galactic currently charges $450,000 per seat for a suborbital trip; Blue Origin has not disclosed ticket prices.)
The connection between Virgin Galactic and SpaceShipOne is strong; To date, Virgin has operated seven commercial suborbital flights with its VSS Unity spaceplane, all of which were recently retired. unity one SpaceshipTwo The vehicle, as its name suggests, is an advanced version of the pioneer SpaceShipOne.
While Ladwig emphasized the challenge of providing commercial services to suborbital space, Ansari said it was worth remembering that the X Prize attracted 26 teams from seven countries, “but only two companies have the capacity to help you have a space experience.”
Ladwig explains that over the past 50 years, experts have made bold predictions for a thriving space tourism industry.
For example, a space tourism expert predicted this. Nearly five million travelers are expected to travel to a range of hotels by 2030 low earth orbit.
“Flights will need to be ramped up to reach these numbers,” says Ladwig. “But Melvill’s historic flight gave hope to all who dreamed of seeing the Earth from an orbital perspective.”
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spark of innovation
“SpaceShipOne’s award-winning second flight in 2004 in search of the Washington D.C.
“Reality took much longer to develop than its supporters expected,” Weitekamp told Space.com. “But the Ansari X Prize competition sparked innovations that sparked renewed interest in suborbital human spaceflight.”
Weitekamp added that once the Boeing Milestones Flight Lounge reopens, the flying SpaceShipOne will return to public display at the National Air and Space Museum’s building on the National Mall.
For more information about Burt Rutan’s extraordinary contributions to aerospace, read the informative and comprehensive BRAB (Burt Rutan AutoBio) websiteIt’s an ongoing collection that he started in 2020.