Scaled Composites Tier One

SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to / using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" atmospheric reentry system where the rear half of the wing and the twin tail booms folds 70 degrees upward along a hinge running the length of the wing; this increases drag while retaining stability. SpaceShipOne completed the first crewed private spaceflight in 2004. That same year, it won the US$10 million Ansari X Prize and was immediately retired from active service. Its mother ship was name

jet-powered carrier aircraft used to launch SpaceShipOne

test pilot

United States naval aviator and commercial astronaut (1953–2022)

suborbital human spaceflight program using the reusable spacecraft SpaceShipOne