Based on the success of the SpaceShipOne (SS1) suborbital craft’s ascent on June 21 (AIN, July, page 2)–becoming the first privately funded manned spacecraft to reach 100 km (328,000 feet)–designer Burt Rutan is confident that he and his company, Mojave, Calif.-based Scaled Composites, will win the $10 million Ansari X Prize by year-end. This despite problems with trim control and rocket engine that occurred during the inaugural space flight.
Rutan confirmed to AIN that the trim anomaly that caused SS1 to veer approximately 20 miles off course was “merely a brief lockout due to a servo being forced to its stop. It actually began working normally within three seconds, at which time we were operating on the backup system.” Wind shear was the cause of the unexpected 90-degree roll to the left shortly after rocket launch, which also prevented SS1 from reaching its intended altitude of 360,000 feet.
