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 Pilot Mike Melvill moments after exiting SpaceShipOne and becoming the first private astronaut in history, designer Burt Rutan on the left | |
| Mission type | Test flight |
|---|---|
| Operator | Scaled Composites |
| Mission duration | 24 minutes |
| Distance travelled | 35 kilometers (22 mi) |
| Apogee | 100.124 kilometers (62.214 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | SpaceShipOne |
| Manufacturer | Scaled Composites |
| Launch mass | 3,600 kilograms (7,900 lb) |
| Dry mass | 1,200 kilograms (2,600 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 1 |
| Members | Mike Melvill |
| Callsign | SpaceShipOne |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | June 21, 2004, 14:50 UTC |
| Launch site | White Knight, Mojave |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | June 21, 2004, 15:14 UTC |
| Landing site | Mojave |
Flight 15P of SpaceShipOne (X0) was the first privately funded human spaceflight. It took place on June 21, 2004. It was the fourth powered test flight of the Tier One program, with the previous three test flights reaching much lower altitudes. The flight carried only its pilot, Mike Melvill, who thus became the first non-governmental astronaut.
This flight was a full-altitude test, but not itself a competitive flight for the Ansari X Prize, the prize for the first non-governmental reusable crewed spacecraft. Problems were encountered during the flight but later corrected, paving the way for SpaceShipOne to make competitive flights later in 2004.