On June 21st the world witnessed the dawn of a new space age, as investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen and Scaled Composites launched the first private manned vehicle beyond the Earth's atmosphere. The successful launch demonstrated that the final frontier is now open to private enterprise.

     Under the command of test pilot Mike Melvill, SpaceShipOne reached a record breaking altitude of 328,491 feet (approximately 62 miles or 100 km), making Melvill the first civilian to fly a spaceship out of the atmosphere and the first private pilot to earn astronaut wings.

     "This flight begins an exciting new era in space travel," said Paul G. Allen, sole sponsor in the SpaceShipOne program. "Burt Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites are part of a new generation of explorers who are sparking the imagination of a huge number of people worldwide and ushering in the birth of a new industry of privately funded manned space flight."

     The historic flight also marks the first time an aerospace program has successfully completed a manned mission without government sponsorship. "Today's flight marks a critical turning point in the history of aerospace," said Scaled Composites founder and CEO Burt Rutan. "We have redefined space travel as we know it."

     "Our success proves without question that manned space flight does not require mammoth government expenditures," Rutan declared. "It can be done by a small company operating with limited resources and a few dozen dedicated employees."

     A large crowd watched the momentous flight live from the grounds of the Mojave Airport, joining millions of others around the world who tuned in by television, radio, and the internet. Dignitaries attending the event included U.S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher, the Commanding Officer of Edwards Air Force Base, General Pearson and the China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center, Admiral Venlet; former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and Konrad Dannenberg, one of Werner Von Braun’s lead scientists on this country’s original space development effort. Hundreds of media representatives were also on hand to record history in the making.

     For more information on the project, see the space launch website.

Western Libertarian Alliance
& ISIL Reps Were There

by Vince Miller

Western Libertarian Alliance representative and popular talk show host Ernest Hancock holds a sign that says it all. Location: in hangar following launch (White Knight in background).

      Well, busy as we have been with the New Zealand conference preparations, I just had to be at Mojave high desert for this launch. I met with friend and libertarian activist Ernie Hancock (www.ernesthancock.com) as well as members of the Western Libertarian Alliance in the wee hours of June 21st to witness a truly historic event – the official launch of private enterprise into the exploration and development of space.

     The WLA had prepared signs and banners and I had prepared a congratulatory flyer from ISIL for the new private space team.

Libertarian banners drew interested crowds in launch area.

SpaceShipOne builder Burt Rutan spotted the libertarian sign "SpaceShipOne – GovernmentZero" and asked Ernest Hancock if he could display it for the press by handing it to test pilot Mike Melvill. In this photo Melvill holds the sign while standing on SpaceShipOne.