Posted: Fri, Nov 21, 2003, 10:47 AM ET (1547 GMT)
SpaceShipOne (SS1), the reusable suborbital spacecraft under development by Scaled Composites, flew its fifth unpowered test flight last week. SS! Separated from White Knight, its carrier aircraft, at an altitude of approximately 14,300 meters on November 14. The vehicle completed a 20-minute glide with a landing at Mojave Airport in California. During the test SS1 Pilot Pete Siebold carried out a number of tests, including checks of new extended horizontal tails and the handling of the vehicle while it is in "feathered" mode, with its tail section tilted upward at an angle of 65 degrees. The glide test was the first in nearly a month for SS1 and the fifth overall since early August. Scaled Composites, which is developing SS1 in a bid to win the X Prize, has given no indication of when it plans to start powered test flights or actually attempt to win the prize.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  Scaled Composites flight test data