SpaceShipOne flight 17P
 |
|
| Mission type | Test flight |
|---|---|
| Operator | Scaled Composites |
| Mission duration | 24 minutes |
| Apogee | 112.01 kilometers (69.60 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | SpaceShipOne |
| Manufacturer | Scaled Composites |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 1 |
| Members | Brian Binnie |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | October 4, 2004, 14:49 UTC |
| Launch site | White Knight, Mojave |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | October 4, 2004, 15:13 UTC |
| Landing site | Mojave |
Flight 17P of SpaceShipOne was a spaceflight in the Tier One program that took place on October 4, 2004. It was the second competitive flight in the Ansari X Prize competition to demonstrate a non-governmental reusable manned spacecraft, and is hence also referred to as the X2 flight. It was a successful flight, winning the X PRIZE.
To win the X PRIZE, a spacecraft needed to make two successful competitive flights within 14 days. SpaceShipOne made a successful competitive flight on September 29, 2004, and so needed to make a second by October 13, 2004 in order to win. Scaled Composites aimed to be able to fly three times within the two weeks in order to allow for a failed flight.
The date of the flight, October 4, 2004, was the 47th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth and the same day astronaut Gordon Cooper died. SpaceShipOne's first powered flight was, in a similar vein, on the 100th anniversary of the first ever powered flight by the Wright Brothers.
The da Vinci Project, another X PRIZE contender, planned to make its first competitive flight on October 2, 2004, which might have caused a race to develop, affecting the scheduling. However, they encountered problems and had to delay their flights. Tier One was therefore able to follow their original flight schedule. Scaled Composites reported that they could have turned the spacecraft around faster than the five days they actually allowed for it.
It was anticipated by observers that Mike Melvill, the pilot on both previous spaceflights by SpaceShipOne, would pilot this flight also. This expectation was not supported by any real evidence, but was based on Melvill's prior experience. On the morning of the flight it was announced that Brian Binnie would be the pilot.
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