SpaceShipOne Called Year's Best Invention
POSTED: 10:31 am EST November 22,
2004
SpaceShipOne is number one among inventions.The first privately financed manned rocket to fly into space has been named Time magazine's Invention of the Year.
SpaceShipOne made three trips outside the Earth's atmosphere this year. Two of those trips, made in late September and early October, won a $10 million prize for private space travel.The magazine praised designer Burt Rutan's solution for avoiding the intense heat associated with a spacecraft's re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.Designed like a badminton shuttlecock, SpaceShipOne's folded tail helps to slow the aircraft and avoid the buildup of speed and heat. Once the re-entry is complete, the tail unfolds and allows the aircraft to land like a glider on a runway.Airline mogul Richard Branson has licensed the technology behind SpaceShipOne and launched Virgin Galactic, which he says could start taking tourists into space within five years.
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Previous Stories:
- October 4, 2004: SpaceShipOne Fires Rocket, Earns $10 Million Prize
- September 29, 2004: SpaceShipOne Rolls During Flight To Space
- September 27, 2004: Virgin Signs Deal With SpaceShipOne Designer
- July 27, 2004: SpaceShipOne To Shoot For $10M Prize
- June 21, 2004: Private Company Becomes First To Put Man In Space
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