Tue, Oct 26, 2004
SpaceShipOne Pilot Mike Melvill Will Be Recognized At Fall
Awards Banquet
Mike Melvill, the first
civilian astronaut and pilot of SpaceShipOne, will be honored by
the National Aeronautic Association at its Fall Awards Banquet
November 8.
Melvill will be recognized for a world record he established
when he became the first pilot to earn civilian astronaut wings on
his flight to space on June 21st of this year. He was also part of
the team that earned the $10 million Ansari X-Prize when he made a
second flight to space September 29. Melvill's appearance will be
one of the highlights of NAA's Fall Awards program, which
recognizes aviation record setters from this year, in addition to
honoring the winners of some of aviation's most prestigious
awards.
Melvill will be honored for the
record he established for "Altitude, Aeroplane Launched from a
Ship," with a height of 281,310 feet reached. He has claimed
several world records in conjunction with his September flight for
the X-Prize, which was awarded to Scaled Composites LLC for
completing two flights into space within 14 days without government
involvement. Those records are still pending final
certification.
Melvill is a vice president for Scaled Composites, an aerospace
development company headquartered in Mojave (CA). He has 19 years
of experience as a test pilot, including first flights on several
experimental designs. He is the only person other than Dick Rutan
and Jeana Yeager to pilot Voyager, the first aircraft to fly around
the world without stopping and a Collier Trophy winner.
Also, appearing at Fall Awards will be former NASA astronaut
Robert "Hoot" Gibson, who established a new record for speed on a
100-kilometer closed course for planes in his aircraft's class in
April, averaging a speed of 238 miles per hour. Gibson was a
shuttle commander and participated in five missions into space.
Seats for this event are still available. Call (800) 644-9777 to
purchase tickets.
More News
Pilot Also Reported That Due To A Fuel Leak, The Auxiliary Fuel Tanks Were Not Used On June 4, 2025, at 13:41 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23, N2109P, was substantially damage>[...]
From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Reflections on War’s Collective Lessons and Cyclical Nature The exigencies of war ought be colorblind. Inane social-constructs the likes of racis>[...]
Pilot Reported That He Was Unfamiliar With The Single Seat Amateur-Built Airplane And His Intent Was To Perform High-Speed Taxi Testing Analysis: The pilot reported that he was unf>[...]
From 2023 (YouTube Edition): First Kits to Ship October 2023 Having formerly resurrected the storied shape of the Ryan ST—in effigy, anyway—Montrose, Colorado-based Tim>[...]
Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) [ICAO] Area navigation based on performance requirements for aircraft operating along an ATS route, on an instrument approach procedure or in a d>[...]
NTSB Prelim: Piper PA-23
See All