Brian topped it all off with a picture-perfect landing at Mojave Airport 24 minutes after he had ignited SpaceShipOne's rocket engine. Winning the X Prize didn't mark the end of our fairy tale ...
Yet, Fedotov only made it about 1/3 the way to space. Another plane, SpaceShipOne reached 367,500 feet in 2004. It had rocket engines and was flown to an initial 43,500 feet before launch.
The success of SpaceShipOne hinged on the unique design of the spacecraft. This was not an airplane that would take off from a runway, light its engine, and blast off into space. Instead ...