* SpaceShipOne was built by a team headed by the aircraft designer Burt Rutan. The project was funded by the Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. It cost in excess of US$20 million.
* Mike Melvill, 62, was selected for yesterday's flight from the project's pool of three pilots.
* He has previously set national and world records for altitude and speed in certain classes of aircraft, and has logged more than 6,400 hours of flight time in 111 fixed-wing aircraft and seven helicopters.
* Quote from Melvill: ``It was an incredible experience, it really was.'' He added it was ``almost a religious experience.''
Source: agencies
RSS