SpaceShipOne, the world's first privately-built piloted spacecraft, has touched down after a decade in 'Flight.' <\/p>\n
The historic space plane, which flew three suborbital flights in 2004 and then was donated to the Smithsonian the year later, was lowered to the ground on Friday(March 27) after spending ten years suspended in the Milestones of Flight hall at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n
\"It's hard to believe it's been here 10 years already,\" said Valerie Neal, chair of the museum's space history division and curator responsible for SpaceShipOne, in an interview with collectSPACE.com. [Watch SpaceShipOne's Historic X Prize Flight (Video)] <\/p>\n
SpaceShipOne's 'landing' was part of ongoing renovations to the hall, the first major redesign to Milestonessince the museum opened in 1976. The museum plans to have the new \"Boeing Milestones of Flight Gallery\" ready in time for its 40th anniversary in 2016. <\/p>\n
Workers carefully placed SpaceShipOne on the floor next to its formerly-suspended companion, Charles Lindbergh'socean-crossing airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, which had been similarly lowered from Milestones' ceiling in January. There the two will remain for the next couple of months as they're inspected and undergo preservation work, awaiting their re-suspension. <\/p>\n
Neal did not anticipate SpaceShipOne requiring any repair, but she said she might take the opportunity to get a better look at its aft section. <\/p>\n
\"There are a lot of signatures on the exhaust nozzle and I may go take a closer look at those,\" she shared. \"I think they had a little signing party before they turned it over to us, or perhaps when it first landed.\" <\/p>\n
Created by prolific aircraft designer Burt Rutan and funded by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, SpaceShipOne was air launched from the carrier aircraft White Knight, also built by Rutan's Scaled Composites. Dropped from underneath the aircraft, SpaceShipOne was rocketed to space using a hybrid motor and then employed a unique \"feathered\" tail system to return to Earth as a glider. <\/p>\n
The craft flew to space three times: twice with pilot Mike Melvill at the controls on June 21 and Sept. 29, 2004, and once with Brian Binnie on Oct. 4 of the same year. Its two latter flights claimed the $10 million Ansari X Prize offered for the first private vehicle to twice exceed 62 miles (100 kilometers) altitude in less than two weeks. <\/p>\n
The Smithsonian, which awarded Rutan and his Scaled team with the National Air and Space Museum trophy for their achievement, chose SpaceShipOne for Milestones of Flight because of what it represented for the near future. <\/p>\n
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SpaceShipOne 'Lands' on Smithsonian Floor as Museum Renovates Hall<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SpaceShipOne, the world's first privately-built piloted spacecraft, has touched down after a decade in 'Flight.' The historic space plane, which flew three suborbital flights in 2004 and then was donated to the Smithsonian the year later, was lowered to the ground on Friday(March 27) after spending ten years suspended in the Milestones of Flight hall at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Continue reading