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SpaceShipOne ranks among the world's first spaceplanes in the first 50 years of human spaceflight, with the North American X-15, Space Shuttle, Buran, and Boeing X-37. SpaceShipOne is the second spaceplane to have launched from a mother ship, preceded only by the North American X-15.
The White Knight and SpaceShipOne were designed by Burt Rutan and manufactured by Scaled Composites, a private company founded by Rutan in 1982. On three separate flights in 2004, White Knight conducted SpaceShipOne into flight, and SpaceShipOne then performed a sub-orbital spaceflight, becoming the first private craft to reach space.
The nitrous oxide is stored at room temperature, at a pressure of 4.8 MPa (700 psi). The MONODS is refilled from a commercial supplier, which uses 50 m 3 (1,800 cu ft) tankers and delivers the nitrous oxide at about −17 °C (1 °F) and 2 MPa (290 psi). The MONODS heats the nitrous oxide to room temperature, increasing its pressure.
SpaceShipOne ranks among the world's first spaceplanes in the first 50 years of human spaceflight, with the North American X-15, Space Shuttle, Buran, and Boeing X-37. SpaceShipOne is the second spaceplane to have launched from a mother ship , preceded only by the North American X-15 .
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Nine seconds into the burn, SpaceShipOne exceeded the speed of sound. The craft climbed at a 70-degree angle, accelerating at 3 g (30 m/s²). At burn-out the Mach number was 1.2. The craft coasted to an apogee altitude of 67,800 feet (20.7 km). The craft was reconfigured into high-drag ("feathered") mode to begin descent.
SpaceShipOne was released from White Knight at an altitude of 45,600 ft (13,900 m). Ignition was delayed by about two minutes to evaluate a shock-induced stall buffet. The rocket was lit at an altitude of 38,300 feet (11.7 km) for a 40-second burn. At burn-out, the Mach number was 1.6.
The prize was won on October 4, 2004, the 47th anniversary of the Sputnik 1 launch, by the Tier One project designed by Burt Rutan and financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, using the experimental spaceplane SpaceShipOne. $10 million was awarded to the winner, and more than $100 million was invested in new technologies in pursuit of the ...