Melvill to fly SpaceShipOne
Posted: Wed, Sep 29, 2004, 8:45 AM ET (1245 GMT)
Mike Melvill, the pilot who flew SpaceShipOne on its historic suborbital spaceflight in June, will fly the vehicle again Wednesday morning, Ansari X Prize officials announced hours before the flight. The selection of the pilot for the first of two flights was shrouded in secrecy prior to the announcement; Rutan himself declined to identify the pilot during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon. Melvill flew SpaceShipOne on June 21, piloting the suborbital spacecraft to just above the 100-km boundary of space. After the flight Melvill hinted that he did not plan to fly the vehicle again, letting one of two other Scaled Composites pilots fly the vehicle on its two X Prize qualifying flights. Takeoff of SpaceShipOne and its White Knight carrier aircraft is scheduled for approximately 9:45 am EDT (1345 GMT), with launch scheduled for about one hour later.
Mike Melvill, the pilot who flew SpaceShipOne on its historic suborbital spaceflight in June, will fly the vehicle again Wednesday morning, Ansari X Prize officials announced hours before the flight. The selection of the pilot for the first of two flights was shrouded in secrecy prior to the announcement; Rutan himself declined to identify the pilot during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon. Melvill flew SpaceShipOne on June 21, piloting the suborbital spacecraft to just above the 100-km boundary of space. After the flight Melvill hinted that he did not plan to fly the vehicle again, letting one of two other Scaled Composites pilots fly the vehicle on its two X Prize qualifying flights. Takeoff of SpaceShipOne and its White Knight carrier aircraft is scheduled for approximately 9:45 am EDT (1345 GMT), with launch scheduled for about one hour later.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, October 27
Minister warned about possible Israeli use of NZ-launched satellites
1News (N.Z.) — 3:42 am ET (0742 GMT) Korea-France Space Forum highlights growing partnership in space exploration
AJP — 3:40 am ET (0740 GMT) Catalyx Space Secures $5.4 Million to Redefine How the World Moves in Space
Bharat Fast — 3:39 am ET (0739 GMT) LVM-3, set to launch satellite for Navy on November 2, moves to launchpad
The Times of India — 3:37 am ET (0737 GMT) Satellite for armed forces to be launched next week
The Hindu — 3:36 am ET (0736 GMT) |
