SpaceShipOne wins the XPrize
Pictures by Stratofox team members

X-Prize Flight 2: Release and launch of SpaceShipOne

For the second X-Prize flight, the SpaceShipOne pilot is Brian Binnie. In these pictures and on this flight, Brian is making his first space flight and becoming the world's second civilian astronaut.

The contrails have made it possible to follow White Knight to the release point. That translated into getting better pictures of this launch than we had on any previous ones. It's a fitting culmination - the best pictures were of the flawless prize-winning flight.

(all pictures on this page are by Ian Kluft)

(3072x2048 1642K) (500x333 4K)	SpaceShipOne has been released! This view is looking to the east from the general public viewing area. It's around 46,000 feet or 9 miles in altitude and an unspecified number of miles from the airport. A local newspaper said previous launches took place near California City.
(3072x2048 1685K) (500x333 4K)	SpaceShipOne has fired its rocket! The flame of the rocket is visible in this picture.
(3072x2048 1667K) (500x333 4K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 3 seconds into the burn.
(3072x2048 1705K) (500x333 4K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 7 seconds into the burn.
(3072x2048 1712K) (500x333 4K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 7 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1920K) (500x750 9K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 11 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1946K) (500x750 8K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 15 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1963K) (500x750 9K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 17 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1957K) (500x750 8K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 19 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1927K) (500x750 8K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 23 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1916K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 25 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1903K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 29 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1918K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 31 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1896K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 33 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1878K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 35 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1749K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 38 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1651K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 42 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1693K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 44 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1853K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 48 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1925K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 52 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1917K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 56 seconds into the burn. Interestingly, for some of the time which seems to be around Mach 2, SpaceShipOne briefly leaves a soap-on-a-rope contrail. (This pattern is called that because it looks like knots and gaps in the trail.) This may indicate that SpaceShipOne's sonic shock is interfering with the contrail in a cyclical pattern. Or maybe some resonant pattern developed between the shock diamonds and the airstream at the speed it was accelerating through. Ideas are flying as we talk about this picture...
(2048x3072 1882K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 58 seconds into the burn. The contrail returns to normal.
(2048x3072 1944K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 64 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1883K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 68 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1944K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 72 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1994K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 76 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1972K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket-powered ascent - 80 seconds into the burn.
(2048x3072 1947K) (500x750 7K)	SpaceShipOne's rocket motor is shut down after 83 seconds. It now has enough speed going straight up to coast into space and fall back to Earth.
(2048x3072 1861K) (500x750 7K)	Looking back at the trail left by SpaceShipOne's rocket, see how much the winds have sheared the trail in the seconds since it flew past. (Picture 2 of 4 - lowest quarter of trail)
(2048x3072 1716K) (500x750 7K)	Looking back at the trail left by SpaceShipOne's rocket, see how much the winds have sheared the trail in the seconds since it flew past. (Picture 3 of 4 - lower-middle quarter of trail)
(2048x3072 1930K) (500x750 7K)	Looking back at the trail left by SpaceShipOne's rocket, see how much the winds have sheared the trail in the seconds since it flew past. (Picture 4 of 4 - upper-middle quarter of trail)
(2048x3072 1861K) (500x750 7K)	Looking back at the trail left by SpaceShipOne's rocket, see how much the winds have sheared the trail in the seconds since it flew past. (Picture 4 of 4 - highest quarter of trail)
(3072x2048 2306K) (500x333 19K)	The crowd is still looking up for SpaceShipOne just after the rocket boost has completed.
(3072x2048 2387K) (500x333 22K)	The crowd is still looking up for SpaceShipOne just after the rocket boost has completed.
(3072x2048 2100K) (500x333 14K)	The crowd is still looking up for SpaceShipOne just after the rocket boost has completed.
(3072x2048 2046K) (500x333 14K)	The crowd is still looking up for SpaceShipOne just after the rocket boost has completed.

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.