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Private Rocket Flight Brings Space Tourism a Step Closer

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 June 2004, 06:00 CDT

SPACE tourism came a step closer yesterday when a private commercial rocket flew into the near reaches of space for the first time.

The privately-funded SpaceShipOne craft by Scaled Composites made aviation history when it flew more than 62 miles above the surface of the Earth.

It also brought the design team, led by aviation pioneer Burt Rutan,closer to a pounds 5.5mprize set up to encourage commercial space travel in the future.

Among the first to congratulate the team was Steve Bennett,chief executive of Cheshire-based rival civilian space project Starchaser Industries.

He said: "This really is a marvellous achievement for Scaled Composites,but of course I wish it had been us.

"We are pretty upbeat about the situation. This just proves that you don't have to be Nasa or a government organisation. Space tourism is within our grasp."

He added that his firm was planning to launch its own rocket in around 18months.

He said: "We should be in a position to launch a British rocket with a British team and you can bet I will be in it."

The American craft,piloted by Mike Melvill, 62, took off from the Mojave desert in California at 2.47pmBST,17 minutes behind schedule. A rocket,called White Knight,carried SpaceShipOne high into the air before the two craft separated and SpaceShipOne's jets boosted it beyond the Earth's atmosphere.

The two craft returned to Earth one hour and 28 minutes later, making a safe touch down in the desert in California at 4.15pm BST. Thousands of people gathered in the desert to watch history being made.

Mr Rutan, who has been granted the first licence to launch a manned sub-orbital rocket, predicted recently that affordable space travel would be available within 10 years.

The commercial space race has been accelerated by the pounds 5.5m prize offered under a contest called the X-Prize, which will give the cash to the first group to put a three-seater craft 62.5miles above the Earth twice within two weeks. The X-Prize, which began in 1996, was set up by a privately-funded foundation. Supporters include Dennis Tito, theAmerican who spent pounds 11m to fly in a Russian craft as the first space tourist.

Some 27 contestants from seven countries have registered for the X- Prizecompetition. The three UK teams among the entrants are: Bristol Spaceplanes,based in Bristol; Flight Exploration from London,and Starchaser.

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