On Mon, 17 May 2004 17:48:48 GMT, "Steven P. McNicoll"
wrote in Message-Id:
.net:


"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
.. .

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AVflash Volume 10, Number 21a -- May 17, 2004
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"FIRST" PRIVATE MANNED SPACEFLIGHT A SUCCESS
Since we've been visiting space for more than 40 years it's almost
hard to believe that this kind of "first" was still open. Last
Thursday, Mike Melvill went into the record books as the first pilot
to take a privately funded aircraft into space. The 62-year-old test
pilot rode Scaled Composites' rocket plane SpaceShipOne to an altitude
of 40 miles (211,400 feet) after being dropped from its mother ship,
the White Knight, over the high desert just east of Los Angeles. He
then glided the unique craft to a landing at Mojave Airport. "Watching
the blue sky go completely black was the highlight of my career,"
Melvill told reporters.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#187306


Who considers 40 miles to be space?


Ummm... AvWeb maybe?

How many miles high do you consider to be space?


Here's the rest of the article:

Now, unless some of the other competitors have some tricks up
their sleeve, Thursday's flight solidifies the Scaled team's lead
in the race to win the X PRIZE, a $10 million award to the first
private concern to launch passengers to an altitude of 100
kilometers (about 60 miles), recover them safely and then do it
all over again within two weeks. Although Scaled President Burt
Rutan has never discussed the cost of his firm's venture, it's
almost certainly a lot more than the prize money will cover.
Billionaire Paul Allen is funding the effort. The goal of the X
PRIZE is to promote safe and reliable private space flights to
create a space tourism industry in the next 15 years.

--

Irrational beliefs ultimately lead to irrational acts.
-- Larry Dighera,