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The Scaled Composites Model 318 White Knight (now also called White Knight One) is a jet-powered carrier aircraft that was used to launch its companion SpaceShipOne, an experimental spaceplane. The White Knight and SpaceShipOne were designed by Burt Rutan and manufactured by Scaled Composites , a private company founded by Rutan in 1982.
The White Knight then transported SpaceShipOne to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum to be put on display. It was unveiled on Wednesday October 5, 2005 in the Milestones of Flight gallery and is now on display to the public in the main atrium with the Spirit of St. Louis , the Bell X-1 , and the Apollo 11 command module ...
Space Ship One and White Knight. Tier One was a Scaled Composites' 1990s–2004 program of suborbital human spaceflight using the reusable spacecraft SpaceShipOne and its launcher White Knight. The craft was designed by Burt Rutan, and the project was funded 20 million US Dollars by Paul Allen.
White Knight, carrying SpaceShipOne, taxied to the runway at 07:00, and took off at 07:11. After takeoff, White Knight and SpaceShipOne ascended to the launch altitude, planned to be around 14 km. At 08:09 SpaceShipOne was released, glided for 6 s, then went into nose-up attitude and the rocket motor was ignited.
(L–R) Marion Blakey, Mike Melvill, Richard Branson, Burt Rutan, Binnie, and Paul Allen reflect on a mission accomplished in 2004. On December 17, 2003, the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first powered flight, Binnie piloted the first powered test flight of SpaceShipOne, flight 11P, which reached a top speed of Mach 1.2 and a height of 12.9 miles (20.7 km).
White Knight was piloted by Mike Melvill. Taxiing, scheduled for 06:30, began at 06:36. Takeoff from Mojave Spaceport, scheduled for 07:00, took place at 06:49. White Knight then carried SpaceShipOne to the launch altitude, in excess of 43,500 feet (13.3 km). SpaceShipOne separated from White Knight at 07:49, and promptly ignited its rocket.
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 .
Taxiing actually started at 06:37, and the flight took off at 06:47. After an ascent to 47,000 feet (14.3 km) coupled with the White Knight airplane, the SpaceShipOne craft separated at 07:50 and immediately ignited its rocket. White Knight carried SpaceShipOne aloft, with a Beechcraft Starship flying chase. This photograph was taken from the ...