Binnie Brian Astronaut Test Pilot Program Manager (1 results)

Hardcover, large format. Condition: excellent condition, new book. With a forword by Burt Rutan, founder of Scaled Composites and designer of SpaceShipOne. In 2004 the history of manned spaceflight took another step forward when the first privately funded, privately built and privately piloted craft reached space. not once, but twice within five days to claim the Ansari XPRIZE. Here in the authentic words of the second of those pilots, whose world record-breaking flight to 70 miles clinched the prize, is the history of SpaceShipOne's development, testing, and eventual triumph. Never-before-seen photos, diagrams and insider explanations make the successes and failures - the magic and the menace - come to life. More than that, it's the story of a personal arc that took a Scottish kid out of the highlands, into naval aviation, to test pilot. and finally on a nail-biting, all-or-nothing gamble into that black sky. Only five manned craft hang in the National Air and Space Museum's "Milestones of Flight" Hall. SpaceShipOne is among them. This book tells why. 398 p. photos.…