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Space: The Next Frontier Is Within Reach
Jun 21, 2004 17: 14 EST
Today at around 10:30am 62 year old Michael Melvill made space history by blasting the first privately financed space craft past the 62.5 mile boundary of earth's atmosphere, even if only for a few minutes.
The X Prize is a $10 million prize given to the first privately financed team who can make two successful manned space flights in a craft able to carry three people.
Just days ago no one knew who the first space pioneer was going to be. It was a tough choice among four experienced test pilots: Brian Binnie, Mike Melvill, Doug Shane, and Pete Siebold.
Of that group, Mike Melvill has chalked up the most time behind the controls of SpaceShipOne, counting captive flights, freefall glides and the last powered flight of the craft. He has worked for Burt Rutan for over 26 years and has some 24 years of experience as an experimental test pilot.
"We are heading to orbit sooner than you think," Burt Rutan, designer of SpaceShipOne, said. "We do not intend to stay in low-earth orbit for decades. The next 25 years will be a wild ride. ... One that history will note was done for the benefit of everyone."
Burt's brother Dick Rutan, who flew non-stop around the world, said today after seeing Mike land safely, "This is a milestone in space, people will look at this acheivement and say 'I can do that."
Within hours of the first private flight to outer space on Monday, a NASA official said the agency might offer millions of dollars in prizes to encourage commercial missions to orbit the Earth or land on the moon.
Mike Melvill's Resume
First flight of the following:
Model 72 GRIZZLY prototype, a short take-off and landing bush plane.
Model 77 SOLITAIRE prototype, a self-launching single place sailplane.
Model 81 CATBIRD prototype, a high performance 5 place general aviation aircraft.
Model 120 PREDATOR prototype, a high performance crop duster.
Model 144 prototype, ultimately flown as a UAV.
GAU-12/U25mm cannon in the Model 151 ARES jet fighter.
Model 202 BOOMERANG, Burt’s unconventional high performance twin.
Model 226 RAPTOR, later flown as an RPV.
Model 281 PROTEUS, a high altitude research twin engine jet.
Model 316 SPACESHIPONE
Participated in the flight testing of the following:
Beech Starship prototype (NGBA)
Fairchild’s Next Generation Trainer for the US Air Force (NGT)
ARES, a single engine, ground support jet fighter.
Pond Racer, a twin engine racing plane, designed to break the unlimited piston powered world speed record.
He is the only person to have flown in the Voyager Aircraft besides Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.
Total flight time: 6950 hours in 127 fixed wing and 11 helicopters
Holds FAA Commercial certificate, ASEL, AMEL, instrument airplane, Rotorcraft-helicopter and Glider
Associate Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Was awarded the Ivan C. Kincheloe trophy in 1999 for his work on developmental high altitude flight testing of the model 281 Proteus
Member of the Aircraft Owners’ and Pilots’ Association
Member of the Experimental Aircraft Association
Personally built and flight tested:
Model 27 Variviggen
Model 61 Long-EZ
Flew his Long-EZ around the world in 1997.
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