SpaceShipOne Takes X-Prize
SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded rocket plane to complete two trips to the edge of space within a two-week window. The feat makes the craft the apparent winner of a $10-million award known as the X-Prize, designed to encourage space tourism. Hear NPR's David Kestenbaum.

The SpaceShipOne rocket plane, shown tethered underneath its mother ship, WhiteKnight, became the first private, manned craft to reach an altitude of at least 62 miles, considered the edge of space, twice within two weeks, Oct. 4, 2004. Reuters hide caption
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