10 years ago the first flight of a private spacecraft took place

On June 21, 2004, a private spacecraft (funded by Paul Allen) made its first successful space flight. It would be more correct to call SpaceShipOne a suborbital aircraft, since it did not go into deep space, so to speak.

But the fact remains that it was 10 years ago that an impetus was given to the development of such an industry as private space tourism. By the way, the creators of SpaceShipOne received $ 10 million from Ansari X PRIZE for a successful flight.

Now in this area several players are involved at once, the most famous of which is Richard Branson with his SpaceShipTwo. Earlier this month, Virgin Galactic received a space shuttle permit from an organization such as the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The government agreement requires Virgin Galactic to work continuously with the NAS (National Airspace System). In addition, measures to ensure the safety of launching spacecraft from the Spaceport America cosmodrome are stipulated. The latter is insured by Virgin Galactic for 20 years.

In addition, several other companies that have launched their own space tourism projects are planning to compete with Virgin Galactic.

But the start was made by the launch of SpaceShipOne.

ViaNew space journal