2-840-017 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Suit worn by Mike Melvill aboard SpaceShipOne, 2004. Test pilot Mike Melvill wore this suit on June 21, 2004, during the first privately funded spaceflight of SpaceShipOne. After its launch from a carrier aircraft called White Knight, Melvill piloted SpaceShipOne to an altitude of 100 km (62 miles) before returning to land in Mojave, California. This test flight paved the way for two subsequent flights that earned the SpaceShipOne team the $10 million Ansari X Prize for the first privately funded spaceflights. Melvill also wore this suit on September 29, 2004, during one of those award-winning flights. Melvill partnered with Burt Rutan in a long career of designing and flight testing experimental aircraft. He gave his flight suit and accessories to the National Air and Space Museum in 2005 when SpaceShipOne entered the national collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft.