Hi, I been doing a lot of research and watched YouTube videos about it but can't find the answer. Why did they immediately retire SpaceShipOne when they win the x-prize? They already had proven technology in 2004 to carry two people into space but they retire it. SpaceShipOne was already 80% resuable and it can flight 60 miles above earth (I think that's higher than SpaceShipTwo at 50 miles).
Why not just make more improvements in SpaceShipOne to take 2 people into space at a time while working on spaceshiptwo? Instead of waiting many years for spaceshiptwo.
Good morning, Reddit!
This is Burt Rutan here to answer your questions. While I am best known for just those two projects, I am known in aviation circles for an unprecedented list of 45 other research aircraft developed by the two companies I founded and ran over a 43-year career.
My first company, Rutan Aircraft Factory, also developed 14 other research aircraft and marketed plans for five of them so individuals could build their own personal airplanes. Or, you may, know me because my small team at my second company, Scaled Composites in the Mojave Desert covertly developed an entire Manned Space Program, and flew three of the world’s five manned space flights in 2004. You can read about me at burtrutan.com, or in a new book, How to Make a Spaceship, by Julian Guthrie. "Black Sky”, an award-winning 2004 documentary by Discovery TV described our private, non-Government space program.
I will be back at 3 pm ET to answer your questions, Ask Me Anything!
As you walk inside the front door at the 'National Air & Space Museum' in Washington DC look straight up and you will see the original SpaceShipOne gliding gracefully above your head.
Today we have Richard Branson's 'Virgin Galactic' and his SpaceShipTwo. But in order to understand what he is trying to accomplish now, first we have to understand what Burt Rutan's 'Scaled Composites' did back in 2004 with SpaceShipOne as they set out to win the Ansari X-Prize with 3 flights to space.
It didn't receive the coverage it deserved at that time so the heroic achievements of pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie have largely gone unnoticed.
I urge all spaceflight fans that want to know what really happened back then to set aside 2 hours & 8 minutes and watch the Discovery Channel documentary 'Black Sky' on YouTube. It comes in 2 parts. Part One lasts 1 hour and 26 minutes and is called 'The Race For Space'. It tells the story up through the first space flight. Find it at https://youtu.be/XUT7FCFykkw while Part Two lasts 42 minutes and is called 'Winning The X Prize'. It tells the story of the final 2 space flights. Find it at https://youtu.be/klw3Cc369so
This should be required viewing for those seeking to learn the rest of the Virgin Galactic story. If you think space tourism is just child's play you'll think twice after seeing what they went through.
