Posted: Thu, Mar 10, 2005, 3:53 AM ET (0853 GMT)
SpaceShipOne, the first privately-developed manned spacecraft to fly into space, will be donated to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) later this year, the museum announced Wednesday. The vehicle will be placed in the "Milestones of Flight" gallery in the center of the museum's downtown Washington, DC location later this summer. The report confirms months of speculation that the NASM would be the final home for the historic spacecraft. SpaceShipOne made three suborbital spaceflights between June and October, 2004; the final two flights allow SpaceShipOne's team to capture the $10-million Ansari X Prize. SpaceShipOne has not flown since the October 2004 flight and is not expected to make another powered flight before going to the Smithsonian. No exact date for SpaceShipOne's installation has been announced, but it will presumably be after it appears at the EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin this July. The announcement came at a private awards dinner at the Smithsonian where the museum awarded the SpaceShipOne team, including designer Burt Rutan and financier Paul Allen, with the NASM's highest honor, the National Air and Space Museum Trophy.

Related Links:

•  Washington Post article
•  NASM press release about SpaceShipOne
•  NASM press release about award