WINNER: Scaled Composites LLC
Mojave, California
Vehicle: SpaceShipOne, a 16.4-foot (~5-meter) rocket launched mid-air from carrier aircraft White Knight
Team Leader: Burt Rutan
Web Site: www.scaled.com
![]() Photo courtesy Ansari X Prize Pilot Mike Melville atop SpaceShipOne |
The Flight
Launch Site: Mojave, California
Ascent Method: Carrier aircraft
Ascent Duration: 60 minutes
Altitude at Ignition: 53,000 feet (~16,000 meters)
Maximum Acceleration Force on Ascent: 3 to 4 g (the force of gravity)
Time of Engine Cut-off: 65 seconds
Maximum Speed: Mach 3.5
Maximum Altitude: 62 miles (~100 km)
Time in Weightless Conditions: 3.5 minutes
Re-entry Method: Ballistic
Acceleration Force on Descent: 5 g maximum; over 4 g for 20 seconds
Landing Method: Unpowered horizontal
Total Duration: 90 minutes
Landing Distance from Take-off: 0 miles
![]() Photo courtesy Scaled Composites, LLC SpaceShipOne |
To learn much more about SpaceShipOne and its flights, see How SpaceShipOne Works.
GoldenPalace.com Space Program
da Vinci Project
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle: Wild Fire, a 16-foot (~9-meter) rocket launched mid-air from a huge helium balloon
Team Leader: Brian Feeney
Web Site: www.davinciproject.com
![]() Photo courtesy da Vinci Project The da Vinci rocket |
![]() Photo courtesy da Vinci Project Beginning of construction on the da Vinci rocket |
![]() Photo courtesy da Vinci Project the da Vinci Team |
High Altitude Research Corporation (HARC)
Huntsville, Alabama
Vehicle: Liberator, a 40-foot-tall (~12-meter) rocket launched vertically from an ocean-going vessel
Team Leader: Tim Pickens
Web Site: www.harcspace.com
The Flight
Launch Site: Ocean-going barge or ship
Ascent Method: Rocket fires for 57 seconds; cabin capsule coasts to 107 kilometers (~66 miles)
Ascent Duration: 189 seconds
Altitude at Ignition: 0 feet
Orientation at Ignition: Within two degrees of vertical
Maximum Acceleration Force on Ascent: 5 g
Altitude at Engine Cut-off: 29 kilometers (~18 miles)
Time at First-stage Engine Cut-off: T+57 seconds
Maximum Speed: 1,263 meters per second (~4,144 feet per second)
Maximum Altitude: 107 kilometers (~66 miles)
Time in Weightless Conditions: 4 minutes
Re-entry Method: Ballistic
Maximum Acceleration Force on Descent: 5 g
Landing Method: Parachute descent into the ocean
Total Duration: 10 minutes
Landing Distance from Take-off Location: 16 kilometers (~10 miles)
Aeronautics & Cosmonautics Romanian Association (ARCA)
Ramnicu Valcea, Romania
Vehicle: Orizont, a 55.7-foot (17-meter) rocket launched vertically from the ground
Team Leader: Dumitru Popescu
Web Site: www.arcaspace.ro
The Flight
Ascent Method: Vertical lift-off
Maximum Acceleration Force on Ascent: 5 g
Altitude at Engine Cut-off: Over 130,000 feet (~40,000 meters)
Time at Engine Cut-off: T+220 seconds
Maximum Speed: 2,900 miles per hour (1,300 meters per second)
Maximum Altitude: Over 62 miles (100 kilometers)
Time in Weightless Conditions: 2 minutes
Re-entry Method: Parachutes released at 2.5 miles (4 kilometers)
Acceleration Force on Descent: 4 g
Landing Method: Parachute recovery
Landing Distance from Take-off Location: 31.3 miles (50 kilometers)
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