Posted: Fri, Mar 12, 2004, 10:44 PM ET (0344 GMT)
SpaceShipOne, the X Prize suborbital vehicle being developed by Burt Rutan, made its first test flight in nearly three months on Thursday, an unpowered test that may be the prelude for more ambitious powered flights. SpaceShipOne was deployed from its White Knight carrier aircraft at an altitude of 14,500 meters and glided to a successful landing at the Mojave, California airport eighteen and a half minutes later. The purpose of the flight, according to a brief entry on the web site of Scaled Composites, was "pilot proficiency, reaction control system functionality check and stability and control and performance of the vehicle with the airframe thermal protection system installed." According to the web site all vehicle systems performed as expected and the vehicle landed safely "while demonstrating the maximum cross wind landing capability." The flight was the first for SpaceShipOne since its initial powered test flight on December 17. While Scaled Composites does not reveal future flight plans as a rule, the company offered an indication that the next flight would be another powered flight test: a photo on the site shows a rocket motor next to the vehicle with a caption that this was the motor for flight 13P; the flights are numbered sequentially and Thursday's glide test was designated 12G.

Related Links:

•  Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne flight test log
•  Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne general information