Space Ship One's First Flight into Space

A steady stream of VIPs arrived in jets.

A glorious sunrise on what would become a glorious day.

Over 10,000 people were in attendance.

Media interest was very high; this TV crew is from Germany.

The first takeoff was a low altitude chase plane, an Extra 300 (the same type of plane used by many aerobatic performers.)

The White Knight carrier aircraft and SpaceShipOne itself were next to roll out. The White Knight carries SpaceShipOne up to 50,000 feet to give it an easier liftoff.

The pilots are waving to the crowd - can you spot the hands sticking out through the fuselage?

SpaceShipOne's rocket engine runs on rubber and laughing gas (don't try this at home!)

The pair were closely watched. This shot gives you a sense of the size of the duo.

While the White Knight prepared for takeoff, another chase plane taxied by.

It is a Beech Starship, and it took off ahead of SpaceShipOne.

Cleared for takeoff, the White Knight throttles its' engines and begins to roll. Winds were near perfect.

This jet will serve as the high altitude chase plane, and it carries cameras for the Discovery Channel.

It took an hour to climb to altitude.

At higher altitudes a contrail formed, making it easier to pick out the plane.

Everyone lost sight of the planes as they flew in front of the Sun.

With multiple planes in the air it was difficult to figure out who was who; at bottom left is the Starship, middle is the chase jet, and upper right is White Knight and SpaceShipOne.

White Knight dropped SpaceShipOne, and seconds later the rocket engine was fired. Thunderous cheers and shouts erupted from the spectators.

White Knight, peeling away from danger, can be seen to the left as SpaceShipOne continues its' rapid climb.

Within seconds it was directly overhead and shrinking fast as it gained altitude.

Burnout! Engine exhausted, SpaceShipOne continued to climb on a ballistic trajectory. Pilot Mike Melvill is now weightless.

SpaceShipOne was now so high that it was just a dot in my powerful lens. Soon everyone lost sight of it. Melvill can see the curvature of the Earth, and has earned his astronaut wings.

Mission accomplished, it began to glide back to Earth. Two soft sonic booms proved that it had done something extraordinary. Again the crowd reacted with deafening cheers, for the sonic booms and again when the ship was sighted.

We came to witness history and we were amply rewarded. We fully expect to see SpaceShipOne in the Smithsonian some day.

Touchdown! Mike Melvill may not like it, but he now holds the record for being the second oldest person in space (first place is John Glenn, due to his 1998 Space Shuttle joyride at age 77), and Mike is now the oldest person to ever command a spaceflight.

Mojave is a storage and maintenance yard for airliners; it's fitting that SpaceShipOne was backdropped by these planes, as the advances SpaceShipOne represents will hopefully make space travel as routine as air travel.

As SpaceShipOne rolled to a stop, it was followed by a bevy of support and safety vehicles.

White Knight returned and made a low, celebratory pass over the runway.

The chase planes also made a celebratory pass.

Astronaut Mike Melvill can't contain his excitement after the successful flight.

The crowd goes wild!

Some folks in the audience were already wild...

The tinfoil hat crowd was here too.

A satisfied Burt Rutan peers out at the crowd.

Paul Allen and Burt Rutan discuss the flight; Melvill is sitting atop SpaceShipOne.

Space Ship One... Government Zero!