SpaceShipOne flight 17P
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2009) |
Mission type | Test flight |
---|---|
Operator | Scaled Composites |
Mission duration | 24 minutes |
Apogee | 112.01 kilometers (69.60 mi)[1] |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | SpaceShipOne |
Manufacturer | Scaled Composites |
Crew | |
Crew size | 1 |
Members | Brian Binnie |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | October 4, 2004, 14:49 | UTC
Launch site | White Knight, Mojave |
End of mission | |
Landing date | October 4, 2004, 15:13 | UTC
Landing site | Mojave |
Flight 17P of SpaceShipOne was a spaceflight in the Tier One program that took place on October 4, 2004. It was the second competitive flight in the Ansari X Prize competition to demonstrate a non-governmental reusable crewed spacecraft, and is hence also referred to as the X2 flight. It was a successful flight, winning the X PRIZE.
Crew
Position | Astronaut | |
---|---|---|
Pilot | Brian Binnie Only spaceflight |
Scheduling
To win the X PRIZE, a spacecraft needed to make two successful competitive flights within 14 days. SpaceShipOne made a successful competitive flight on September 29, 2004, and so needed to make a second by October 13, 2004, in order to win. Scaled Composites aimed to be able to fly three times within the two weeks in order to allow for a failed flight.
The date of the flight, October 4, 2004, was the 47th anniversary of the launch of
The da Vinci Project, another X PRIZE contender, planned to make its first competitive flight on October 2, 2004, which might have caused a race to develop, affecting the scheduling. However, they encountered problems and had to delay their flights. Tier One was therefore able to follow their original flight schedule. Scaled Composites reported that they could have turned the spacecraft around faster than the five days they actually allowed for it.
It was anticipated by observers that
Manifest
Under
- X PRIZE flight monitoring equipment, known as the "gold box"
- the X PRIZE Foundation
The same logos were carried as on flight 16P:
- Scaled Composites
- "SpaceShipOne: a Paul G. Allen project" on SpaceShipOne
- "White Knight" on White Knight
- Virgin Galactic, on the tails
- Virgin, on the fuselage
- Ansari X PRIZE, as required by X PRIZE rules
- The Spirit of St. Louis, a science center
- M&M's
- 7-UpPlus
- Champ CarWorld Series
Flight profile
All times are in
The SpaceShipOne
.Taxiing, scheduled for 06:30, began at 06:36. Takeoff from
The rocket motor was capable of burning for approximately 87
After apogee, SpaceShipOne
Spectacle
As with SpaceShipOne's previous spaceflights, a large crowd watched from
Distinguished attendees included:
- Richard Branson, of Virgin Galactic
- Paul Allen, of Mojave Aerospace Ventures
- Rick Searfoss, chief X PRIZE judge
- Jerry Pournelle, science fiction author
X PRIZE
The
Retirement
On July 25, 2005, SpaceShipOne was taken to the
Commander Brian Binnie donated the flight suit worn during his Ansari X Prize-winning flight to an auction benefiting Seattle's Museum of Flight. Entertainer and charity auctioneer Fred Northup, Jr. purchased the flight suit, and it is on loan and displayed at the museum's new Charles Simonyi Space Gallery.
References
- ^ a b "FAI Record ID #9881 - Altitude above the earth's surface with or without maneuvres of the aerospacecraft, Class P-1 (Suborbital missions) Archived 2015-10-18 at the Wayback Machine" Mass Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Time Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
External links
- Go for launch! X PRIZE Foundation announces teams ready to compete for $10 million
- SPACE.com contemporaneous report
- SPACE.com: SpaceShipOne Wins $10 Million Ansari X PRIZE in Historic 2nd Trip to Space
- Spaceflight Now contemporaneous report
- Spaceflight Now: SpaceShipOne launches for X PRIZE
- X PRIZE press release: SpaceShipOne reaches over 360,000 feet to win the $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE
- Aviation Week & Space Technology gives technical details on how roll problem was avoided Archived 2004-12-11 at the Wayback Machine