A privately built rocket plane and its mother ship landed safely this afternoon to claim a $10 million prize for the first commercially viable manned spacecraft after a second trip into space in a week.
SpaceShipOne, a stubby-winged craft about the size of a minivan, took to the sky above the Mojave Desert, California, to prove itself worthy of the Ansari X Prizefor the first non-government team to fly three people, or the equivalent weight, to at least 62 miles in altitude, twice within a fortnight.
Mr Brian Binnie (51), a former Navy pilot, flew SpaceShipOne, which was ferried by its carrier aircraft, White Knight, to about 50,000 feet. It was then released for its 90-second rocket-fueled stab through Earth's atmosphere.
Mr Binnie experienced three to four minutes of weightlessness before arcing back toward Earth in a long, spiral glide.
The flight was being closely monitored by entrepreneurs hoping to profit from developing commercial space, and by Federal Aviation Administration officials and lawmakers who must regulate the new industry.
The ship was built by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, a joint project of aircraft designer Mr Burt Rutan and financier Mr Paul Allen, for $20 million-$30 million.
It made its first successful X Prize flight on September 29th. On that flight, Mr Michael Melvill (63) rode SpaceShipOneto a peak altitude of 63.9 miles, despite a series of unplanned vertical rolls that prompted him to shut down the ship's engine early.
The X Prize was founded in 1996 by space enthusiast Peter Diamandis in the hope that it would spur a commercial space travel industry.