SpaceShipOne wins the XPrize
Pictures by Stratofox team members

X-Prize Flight 1: The Return of SpaceShipOne

A little over 10 minutes after the rocket boost, SpaceShipOne returns to the sky over the Mojave Airport. In the meantime, everyone is watching.

We had a fun moment here in a discussion between Stratofox members and some students from Northern Arizona University at Flagstaff. One of the students asked, "Can anyone see it yet?" Stratofox member Ian Kluft responded, "You won't see anything until after we hear the re-entry boom." That was followed a split second later by a "BA-BOOM" double sonic boom from the east. One of the students answered, "Good timing!" Of course, we couldn't have planned that timing if we had tried. :-) Credit to eagle-eyed NAU student Ricky for pointing out the Starship chase plane as it returned to Mojave.

(all pictures on this page are by Ian Kluft)

(3072x2048 2814K) (500x333 21K)	An XPrize camera crew takes my picture as I take theirs.
(3072x2048 1755K) (500x333 3K)	White Knight returns to the sky over the Mojave Airport. It can't land yet because the runway is reserved for SpaceShipOne.
(3072x2048 1740K) (500x333 3K)	White Knight returns to the sky over the Mojave Airport.
(3072x2048 1651K) (500x333 3K)	Bob Sherer's Starship NC-51 returns to the sky over the Mojave Airport. It can't land yet because the runway is reserved for SpaceShipOne.
(3072x2048 1714K) (500x333 3K)	The Starship returns to the sky over the Mojave Airport.
(3072x2048 1703K) (500x333 3K)	The AlphaJet follows SpaceShipOne on its return to the Mojave Airpor.
(3072x2048 1703K) (500x333 3K)	The AlphaJet follows SpaceShipOne on its return to the Mojave Airpor.
(3072x2048 1458K) (500x333 3K)	The AlphaJet follows SpaceShipOne on its return to the Mojave Airpor.
(3072x2048 1432K) (500x333 3K)	The AlphaJet follows SpaceShipOne on its return to the Mojave Airpor.
(3072x2048 2593K) (500x333 18K)	The crowd watches SpaceShipOne's approach. Cameras watch the crowd.
(3072x2048 2188K) (500x333 17K)	The crowd watches SpaceShipOne's approach. People hold up their hands as it passes across the Sun in our field of view.
(3072x2048 1576K) (500x333 3K)	The Extra 300 chase plane has formed up with SpaceShipOne. The AlphaJet has moved aside to give it room. (Note that this may not be an entirely celebratory maneuver. The chase planes are talking with SpaceShipOne and inspecting it for any damage before landing. Though by now they've given it a clean bill of health.)
(3072x2048 1728K) (500x333 3K)	The Starship forms up with the other chase planes behind SpaceShipOne.
(3072x2048 1737K) (500x333 3K)	The chase planes follow SpaceShipOne on it's approach. On the ground, the crowd is going wild.
(3072x2048 1711K) (500x333 3K)	The chase planes follow SpaceShipOne on it's approach.
(3072x2048 1752K) (500x333 3K)	The chase planes follow SpaceShipOne on it's approach.
(3072x2048 1764K) (500x333 3K)	The chase planes follow SpaceShipOne on it's approach.
(3072x2048 1797K) (500x333 3K)	The chase planes follow SpaceShipOne on it's approach.
(3072x2048 1738K) (500x333 3K)	The chase planes follow SpaceShipOne on it's approach.
(3072x2048 1777K) (500x333 3K)	The chase planes follow SpaceShipOne on it's approach.
(3072x2048 1567K) (500x333 4K)	The Extra 300 starts to pull ahead of SpaceShipOne in preparation to take video of the landing.
(3072x2048 1681K) (500x333 3K)	The chase planes follow SpaceShipOne on it's approach.

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.