wow, amazing memories! I was about 12 when I went to the first 3 flights. Memorable experience when I had a passion for space, space history, and aviation! It was nice to see a piece of space history happen right before my eyes, I'll never forget the huge dreams I had as a youngster of becoming an astronaut<3
SS1 has no RCS (reaction control system) so it has no way to control it's attitude when out of the atmosphere. I would guess he spun her so: A) he was sure to get views of Earth and Space from his cockpit window; and B) more importantly he could test the 'self-aligning re-entry' design. SS1 is supposed to auto-align itself for re-entry as soon as it touched atmosphere.
was just the test pilot? just? i think what mike and burt and the rest of these guy's did is off the chart..mike is not just the pilot as you put it ..he is a hero and an inspiration to others...
i went to the public launch and it was pretty cool
poptartpencil 7 months ago
what engine are they using
AdventuresOfMrQuest 8 months ago
I met this guy, Mike Melville is such a pimp!
StaticFlex08 1 year ago
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wow, amazing memories! I was about 12 when I went to the first 3 flights. Memorable experience when I had a passion for space, space history, and aviation! It was nice to see a piece of space history happen right before my eyes, I'll never forget the huge dreams I had as a youngster of becoming an astronaut<3
congrats BURT RUTAN and MIKE MELVILL
chellyiscool 3 years ago
I will do this before I die
memyselfandcorpse2 4 years ago 4
lol, hes taking pictures with the same camera that I have, Cannon Powershot G6
idrinkpellegrino 5 years ago
A bit concerned to see the craft spining around so much during take off, should it really do that?
sgtspite 5 years ago
SS1 has no RCS (reaction control system) so it has no way to control it's attitude when out of the atmosphere. I would guess he spun her so: A) he was sure to get views of Earth and Space from his cockpit window; and B) more importantly he could test the 'self-aligning re-entry' design. SS1 is supposed to auto-align itself for re-entry as soon as it touched atmosphere.
pkt42 2 years ago
no, Melvill is the lunatic pilot. :P
nihil1 5 years ago
Is this the guy who made his own space ship?
Sunchico 5 years ago
It was Burt Rutan who built it. Mike Melvill was just the test pilot.
Astrobeat17 4 years ago
was just the test pilot? just? i think what mike and burt and the rest of these guy's did is off the chart..mike is not just the pilot as you put it ..he is a hero and an inspiration to others...
oddjobjujitsu 2 years ago
@Astrobeat17 "Just" the test pilot? You need balls of steel to fly an untested craft 60 miles up!
FatherViv 2 months ago