Meet SpaceShipOne’s identical twin

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh – July 26, 2006 – SpaceShipOne #2 now hangs in the EAA AirVenture Museum, and even the spacecraft’s designer and pilot say it’s hard to tell it apart from the original. Designer Burt Rutan, pilot Mike Melvill and other dignitaries were on hand Tuesday for the dedication of the SpaceShipOne exhibit at the EAA AirVenture Museum. About 800 people attended the 50-minute dedication ceremony and their thunderous and intermittent applause showed the exhibit was a major hit. Made from the same molds and with the same tools as the original, the exhibit spacecraft was assembled by EAA staff from 27 parts manufactured by Scaled Composites volunteers. “It was really the world’s biggest model airplane kit,” said museum director Adam Smith. “All Scaled Composites didn’t give us was a big tube of glue.” EAA staff took nearly 1,000 pictures of the original spacecraft and paid attention to detail as they put together the replica. “The screws are in exactly in the right place, even where we put them in the wrong place in the real thing,” said Melvill, who first piloted the private manned spacecraft that reached space twice within 14 days and claimed the $10 million Ansari X-Prize. But the exhibit, which includes a six-minute film, is more than a static display. “It demonstrates what we believe is the critical breakthrough — feathering — that made this whole thing possible,” said Smith. The feathering process allowed SpaceShipOne to slow down and safely re-enter the atmosphere without excessive heating. Later it “unfeathered” for landing. Rutan said he named the craft SpaceShipOne because it described the future of spaceflight. “It signifies something important to the industry that is coming up, now that we were the first ones to leave the atmosphere without a government program.” SpaceShipOne’s technology will allow more people to fly to space safely and at a lower cost. “This will not be an industry that flies a few billionaires,” Rutan said. “It will be for everyone.” The exhibit doesn’t just tell the story of an aviation milestone; it also is a milestone for the museum. “For the last 42 years, EAA has been an air museum,” said Smith. “Today we become an air and space museum.”

A large crowd fills the area surrounding SpaceShipOne #2 for its dedication on Tuesday morning in the EAA AirVenture Museum. Pilot Mike Melvill and designer Burt Rutan speak at the dedication. Melvill and Rutan have the honor of pressing the button to begin the demonstration of the feathering process Learn More SpaceShipOne Burt Rutan Mike Melvill EAA AirVenture Museum Scaled Composites EAA Ansari X-Prize

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