Aerospace History

Let it be known that history was made earlier today. The first privately funded manned space flight, and the pilot, Mike Melville, became the first person certified as a civilian astronaut. Not everyday does a company not associated with a governmental agency accomplish such an important milestone in humankind quest to further themselves, both physically and metaphorically. For several months I have been following this effort of Burt Rutan and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who put forth $20M of his own money to fund the project. I couldn't dream of the government accomplishing as much with a fraction of Scaled Composites budget. My hat is truly off to those guys and gals.

The next step is to try for the $10 Million Ansari X-prize. The winning team will send 3 people (or the equivalent weight) above 62 miles and return them safely to earth, then repeat the feat within 2 weeks. Obviously the cost of any such attempt will far exceed the prize sum, but the implications and future earnings of winning this competition would be enormous.

To Mike Melville, Burt Rutan, Paul Allen and all of the staff at Scaled Composites, my hat is off to you. A job well done.