Oct. 4, 2004—MOJAVE, CALIFORNIA Scaled Composites test pilot Brian Binnie earned his astronaut wings today after flying Burt Rutan’s SpaceShipOne nearly flawlessly to a yet-unconfirmed 368,000 feet. Binnie, who hadn’t flown the vehicle since its first powered flight last December—a flight that ended with a hard runway touchdown that broke the landing gear—follows Mike Melvill in the two-flight effort to win the $10-million Ansari X Prize.

Mojave, CA

4/18/2003

Legendary aviation designer Burt Rutan unveiled Friday what is probably the leading contender for a manned, commercial space-launch system. SpaceShipOne was revealed to the public at Rutan's Scaled Composites headquarters in Mojave, California fully formed—a launch-ready prototype that will, within a few weeks, begin the series of tests that could send passengers into suborbital flight by early next year.