SpaceShipOne wins the XPrize
Pictures by Stratofox team members

X-Prize Flight 1: Climbing, climbing, climbing...

After takeoff, White Knight took about an hour to climb to the release altitude of around 46,000 feet. Unlike the June 21 flight, there were no visible contrails this time, which made it harder to follow. There must have been less humidity in the atmosphere over Mojave that day.

(all pictures on this page are by Ian Kluft)

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(3072x2048 1561K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1555K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1537K) (500x333 3K) 		White Knight carries SpaceShipOne climbing in the sky over Mojave.
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(3072x2048 1789K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1743K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1781K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1792K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1724K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1681K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1656K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1820K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1830K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1851K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1793K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1726K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1792K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1811K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1789K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1868K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1712K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1725K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1609K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1609K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1694K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship chase plane follows WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne aloft.
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(3072x2048 1711K) (500x333 3K) 		At altitude, White Knight starts to leave the Starship behind.
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(3072x2048 1789K) (500x333 3K) 		White Knight and SpaceShipOne continue climbing.
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(3072x2048 1694K) (500x333 3K) 		White Knight and SpaceShipOne continue climbing.
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(3072x2048 1766K) (500x333 3K) 		The Starship observes from an increasing distance.
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(3072x2048 1695K) (500x333 3K) 		White Knight and SpaceShipOne continue climbing.
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(3072x2048 1778K) (500x333 3K) 		White Knight and SpaceShipOne continue climbing.
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(3072x2048 2825K) (500x333 24K) 		NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe (standing on platform) speaks at the VIP area expressing support for civilian space launches like this.
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(3072x2048 2675K) (500x333 24K) 		The Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) General Secretary spoke at the VIP area, promising that civilian space launch records will be recorded and recognized by FAI as they have done with aeronautical records.
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(3072x2048 1797K) (500x333 3K) 		Meanwhile, White Knight/SpaceShipOne and the Starship chase plane continue to climb, with increasing distance between them.
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(3072x2048 1716K) (500x333 3K) 		White Knight/SpaceShipOne and the Starship chase plane continue to climb.
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(3072x2048 1690K) (500x333 3K) 		White Knight/SpaceshipOne leave the Starship chase plane behind.
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(3072x2048 2164K) (500x333 20K) 		Mojave Airport staff drive by on the taxiway.
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(3072x2048 2216K) (500x333 12K) 		The giant American flag on the crane leans with a small breeze.
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(3072x2048 3267K) (500x333 26K) 		Security keeps the crowd back to some imaginary line. They haven't bothered to tell the crowd where it is, except to yell at people who have crossed it.

Back up to Stratofox's pictures of SpaceShipOne's XPrize space flights.

Web text copyright 2004 by Stratofox, a Special Interest Group of the South Bay Community Network, Silicon Valley, California
All pictures copyright 2004 by their photographers. Any publication or redistribution of these pictures requires permission. Permission is available upon request and will require crediting the photographers for their pictures.