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SpaceShipOne to Join Smithsonian Collection

Posted by Zonk on from the going-up dept.

iamlucky13 writes "After having inspired space enthusiasts around the world and possibly setting the stage for space tourism by winning the X-Prize a year ago, SpaceShipOne is on it's way to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. There it will join other historic craft such as Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis and Yeager's Glamorous Glennis. The exhibit will be unveiled on October 5th at a ceremony with Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites, the company that built SpaceShipOne, and Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder who funded the project."

2 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. Re:well that was a waste of time, wasn't it? by ocelotbob · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The X-Prize was designed to spur invention and get people looking at private spaceflight and funding deals. SS1 is way too small to be commercially viable. It did it's job, and is now obsolete. Life is short when you're a prototype in an evolving industry.

    --

    Marxism is the opiate of dumbasses

  2. sputnik by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sputnik was not the first man-made object in space. If the boundary between the atmosphere and space is defined as 100 km altitude, then the V-2 beat Sputnik there.

    Sputnik's real claim to fame is that it was Earth's first artificial satellite.

    Well, that, and also the fact that at it gave red-blooded Americans the heebie-jeebies to have a sinister Soviet satellite beaming out Communist radio signals while whizzing over your head fifteen times a day.