# SpaceShipOne
**SpaceShipOne** was a privately funded, rocket-powered suborbital aircraft that in 2004 became the first privately crewed vehicle to reach space, winning the $10 million [Ansari X Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/ansari-x-prize) by flying twice above 100 kilometers within two weeks using the same vehicle[1](https://www.nasa.gov/history/95-years-ago-first-human-rocket-powered-aircraft-flight/). It was developed by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, a joint venture between aircraft designer [Burt Rutan](https://www.edgepedia.org/burt-rutan)'s Scaled Composites and Microsoft co-founder [Paul Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-allen), who exclusively financed the Tier One program[1](https://www.nasa.gov/history/95-years-ago-first-human-rocket-powered-aircraft-flight/) • [2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Prize won | $10 million Ansari X Prize, claimed October 4, 2004, after two flights above 100 km within two weeks[1](https://www.nasa.gov/history/95-years-ago-first-human-rocket-powered-aircraft-flight/) • [3](https://www.xprize.org/competitions/ansari) |
| First private spaceflight | June 21, 2004, reaching 100,124 meters (328,491 feet) with pilot Mike Melvill, who received the first-ever FAA commercial astronaut wings[2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf) |
| X Prize flights | 102,870 meters (337,500 feet) on September 29, 2004 (Melvill); 112,000 meters (367,442 feet) on October 4, 2004 (Brian Binnie)[2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf) |
| Propulsion | Hybrid rocket motor burning hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) solid fuel with self-pressurizing nitrous oxide oxidizer[4](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20060048274/downloads/20060048274.pdf) |
| Launch method | Air-dropped from the White Knight carrier aircraft, then gliding back to a runway landing[1](https://www.nasa.gov/history/95-years-ago-first-human-rocket-powered-aircraft-flight/) |
| Regulatory first | FAA license LRLS 04-067, the world's first for a reusable suborbital piloted launch vehicle, effective April 1, 2004[2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf) |
| Test program | 13 months and 17 flights, including six rocket-powered flights, three of which exceeded 100 km[5](https://sma.nasa.gov/SignificantIncidents/assets/combined-white-knight---spaceshipone-flight-tests.pdf) |
## The Ansari X Prize
The X Prize Foundation announced the competition in 1996, offering $10 million to the first private company to fly a crewed rocket to 100 km with a payload equivalent to two passengers and repeat the feat within two weeks; the prize was renamed the Ansari X Prize in May 2002 when entrepreneurs [Anousheh Ansari](https://www.edgepedia.org/anousheh-ansari) and Amir Ansari became major financial backers[6](https://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0411/Byko-0411.html). Twenty-six teams from around the world entered[6](https://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0411/Byko-0411.html). The foundation's stated aim was to lower the cost of access to space and open avenues to space tourism[6](https://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0411/Byko-0411.html).
[Scaled Composites](https://www.edgepedia.org/scaled-composites) announced its intent to attempt the two qualifying flights on July 27, 2004. The first, designated X1, flew on September 29, 2004 with Melvill piloting; the vehicle went into a roll near the end of the powered portion but reached 102,870 meters and landed safely, and the judging team certified the flight the same day[2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf). The second flight, X2, on October 4 with Brian Binnie piloting, avoided the rolls and reached a peak altitude of 112,000 meters before gliding back to Mojave Airport; the judges certified it the same day and declared SpaceShipOne the winner[2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf). In November 2004, Mojave Aerospace Ventures received the $10 million check and trophy at a ceremony at the St. Louis Science Center[2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf).
## Flight test program
The Tier One program was publicly unveiled in April 2003, with captive-carry flights of SpaceShipOne attached to White Knight beginning in May 2003 and glide tests in August[2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf). The first powered flight took place on December 17, 2003, the 100th anniversary of the [Wright brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/wright-brothers)' first powered flight, igniting the engine for 15 seconds and reaching Mach 1.2 and 20,665 meters (67,800 feet)[1](https://www.nasa.gov/history/95-years-ago-first-human-rocket-powered-aircraft-flight/) • [2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf). Two further powered flights in April and May 2004 reached up to Mach 2.5 and 64,435 meters (211,400 feet)[2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf).
The June 21, 2004 flight, the program's fourth powered flight and first attempt at space, was meant to reach nearly 110 kilometers, but a roll oscillation after engine ignition and a trim control malfunction caused a trajectory excursion of about 30 kilometers; the vehicle still reached 100,124 meters, just above the 100-kilometer boundary, and the FAA awarded Melvill the first-ever pair of commercial astronaut wings[2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf).
In total the program ran 13 months and 17 flights, including six rocket-powered flights, three of which flew above 100 km. The final flight broke the X-15 rocket aircraft's altitude record for piloted flight by 13,000 feet and returned with no maintenance squawks[5](https://sma.nasa.gov/SignificantIncidents/assets/combined-white-knight---spaceshipone-flight-tests.pdf). Rutan decided to retire SpaceShipOne after its prize-winning flight and concentrate on the next project[1](https://www.nasa.gov/history/95-years-ago-first-human-rocket-powered-aircraft-flight/).
## Design
**Feathered reentry.** SpaceShipOne's distinctive solution to reentry heating was the feather system: the rear half of the wing, along with both tail booms, is raised to a 65-degree angle by two redundant pneumatic actuators, increasing drag and stability so the vehicle reenters high in the atmosphere at a steep angle, then returns to its normal position for subsonic flight and landing[7](https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/spaceshipone-folds-its-wing). Rutan arrived at the articulated tail after earlier winged and lifting-body reentry configurations proved unstable in subsonic flight when the center of gravity was far enough aft for supersonic reentry[8](https://thespacereview.com/article/49/1).
**Hybrid propulsion.** The vehicle was built around a hybrid rocket motor and its oxidizer tank, which was bonded to the inside of the airframe. [Nitrous oxide](https://www.edgepedia.org/nitrous-oxide) was chosen as the oxidizer because its high vapor pressure makes the system self-pressurizing, greatly simplifying the design; the nitrous oxide valves sat inside the oxidizer tank to eliminate leak paths[4](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20060048274/downloads/20060048274.pdf). The motor case was composite, with a silica phenolic liner and carbon fiber epoxy overwrap, and carried burn-through sensors so that unusual burning would close the oxidizer valve and shut the motor down[4](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20060048274/downloads/20060048274.pdf). The fuel grain design was competed between Environmental Aerosciences Corporation, which proposed a single-port design, and SpaceDev, which proposed a four-port design; after ground tests Scaled Composites awarded the contract to SpaceDev, whose motors flew on all the SpaceShipOne flights leading to the X Prize win[9](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20060047689/downloads/20060047689.pdf).
The airframe was carbon fiber, and the propellants drew on technology from the 1960s; chief engineer Matthew Gionta described the team's approach as adapting existing materials and technology under Rutan's principle of keeping the design simple[6](https://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0411/Byko-0411.html).
## Legacy
On September 27, 2004, Mojave Aerospace Ventures signed a $26 million agreement to license the Tier One technology to [Virgin Group](https://www.edgepedia.org/virgin-group), run by Sir Richard Branson, which created the subsidiary [Virgin Galactic](https://www.edgepedia.org/virgin-galactic) to build larger suborbital vehicles based on SpaceShipOne[2](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf). The successor [SpaceShipTwo](https://www.edgepedia.org/spaceshiptwo), roughly twice the size of its predecessor, is carried by a twin-fuselage White Knight Two and uses the same air-launch and hybrid rocket approach[1](https://www.nasa.gov/history/95-years-ago-first-human-rocket-powered-aircraft-flight/).
The X Prize Foundation credits the win with igniting the commercial space industry, driving more than $100 million in competitor research and development and inspiring later ventures such as SpaceX and [Blue Origin](https://www.edgepedia.org/blue-origin)[3](https://www.xprize.org/competitions/ansari). The flights also raised the profile of commercial suborbital spaceflight in the [United States Congress](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-congress), which considered legislation in 2004 to reduce regulatory uncertainty for the industry[10](https://www.thespacereview.com/article/290/1). SpaceShipOne itself is displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.[7](https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/spaceshipone-folds-its-wing).
## References
1. [95 Years Ago: First Human Rocket-Powered Aircraft Flight, NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/history/95-years-ago-first-human-rocket-powered-aircraft-flight/)
2. [Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles and Emerging Markets, FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/suborbital_report.pdf)
3. [Ansari XPRIZE Competition Page, XPRIZE Foundation](https://www.xprize.org/competitions/ansari)
4. [Chapter 14: SpaceShipOne hybrid propulsion, NASA NTRS (2006)](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20060048274/downloads/20060048274.pdf)
5. [Scaled Composites: SpaceShipOne flight tests, NASA Safety Management Association](https://sma.nasa.gov/SignificantIncidents/assets/combined-white-knight---spaceshipone-flight-tests.pdf)
6. [SpaceShipOne, the Ansari X Prize, and the Materials of the Civilian Space Race, JOM (2004)](https://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0411/Byko-0411.html)
7. [SpaceShipOne Folds Its Wing, National Air and Space Museum](https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/spaceshipone-folds-its-wing)
8. [SpaceShipOne: A progress report, The Space Review (2003)](https://thespacereview.com/article/49/1)
9. [Hybrid rocket motor development for SpaceShipOne, NASA NTRS (2006)](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20060047689/downloads/20060047689.pdf)
10. [Is 2004 the breakout year for space entrepreneurship?, The Space Review (2004)](https://www.thespacereview.com/article/290/1)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Spaceflight › Launch systems and rocketry › Launch vehicles › Reusable launch systems › Reusable suborbital vehicles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license