SpaceShipOne Completes First Drop Test

Scaled Composite's SpaceShipOne completed its first glide test on Thursday, after it was released from the White Knight aircraft at an altitude of 14,300 metres. The X-Prize candidate was taken through a series of tests in the air, and then landed at a runway in the Mojave desert. Since it was unveiled in April, 2003, SpaceShipOne is considered one of the front runners to win the $10 million X-Prize for the first privately-built spacecraft to reach an altitude of 100 km twice within 2 weeks.