SpaceShipOne is a suborbital air-launched spaceplane that completed the first manned private spaceflight in 2004. That same year, it won the US$10 million Ansari X Prize and was immediately retired from active service. Its mothership was named "White Knight". Both craft were developed and flown by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, which was a joint venture between Paul Allen and Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan's aviation company.
Additional Info
- Lead Nation: USA
- Project Website: www.scaled.com
- Project Wikipedia Page: SpaceShipOne
Latest from Copernical Team
- China's latest astronaut trio dock at Tiangong Space Station
- NASA rejects Kardashian's claim Moon landing 'didn't happen'
- China sends astronauts—and mice—on its latest space station mission
- Muscle tissue from a 3D printer—produced in zero gravity
- Parabolic flight experiment highlights flame dynamics in microgravity
- Week in images: 27-31 October 2025
- Turning up the heat in ESA’s Astronaut Reserve Training
- Seas of the Sun: The story of Cluster
- Earth from Space: Ghostly lake
- Flickering flame: spooky spirits or serious science?













