When SpaceShipOne screams skyward this month on a mission to win an international human spaceflight competition, its rocket motor will be more powerful than ever, according to the engine's ...

SpaceShipOne's engine, a composite structure designed by Scaled, consists primarily of two parts: a tank of nitrous oxide and a cylinder with the HTPB fuel.

The frightening spin of SpaceShipOne during its trip into space Wednesday was caused by a known deficiency and at no time led to an out-of-control situation, officials said today.

It was a one-of-a-kind moment for a throng of well-wishers, including this reporter, all in nose-up, sky-squinting position at California's Mojave Airport on June 21, 2004. Let loose from its White ...

A Merlin engine built to power Space Exploration Technologies' Falcon rockets undergoes test firing in McGregor, Texas. Photo: Thom Rogers/Space Exploration Technologies View Slideshow ...

SpaceShipOne reaches Mach 2 ... During Thursday's test flight, the rocket powered plane burned its engine for 40 seconds, reached a speed of over Mach 2, and climbed to an altitude of 105,000 feet.

Organizers of the Ansari X Prize announced Friday that SpaceShipOne will launch as planned on Oct. 4 to seal its victory ... SpaceShipOne detaches, fires up its engine and then rockets up toward ...

Then SpaceShipOne was a glider all the way back, it didn’t have an engine for return and landing. It was about a 45 minute flight, from the time SpaceShipOne was released until it landed.

SpaceShipOne Team Claims Prize In Private Space Race Competition. ... Pilot Mike Melvill, 63, shut down the craft's engine 11 seconds early in agreement with advice from the ground, ...

SpaceShipOne ultimately could reach a speed of Mach 3.5 and, once the engine was cut off, would continue to ascend above 62 miles (100 kilometers) — the internationally recognized boundary of ...

Rocket engines that sent NASA's Apollo crews on the first leg of their trip to the moon have ... and as a lawyer in 2004’s prize-winning flights of the privately funded SpaceShipOne rocket ...

On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne reached the final frontier for the first time, ... When the rocket engine shut off, SpaceShipOne slipped into low speed and the feather system was engaged.