Commercial Space Flight
Manned space flight changed forever on 21 June 2004.
On that date, Mike Melvill, chief test pilot for Scaled Composites of Mojave, California, earned his astronaut wings flying the first private (non-government sponsored) spacecraft to an altitude of 100 km (62 miles).
The Ansari X-Prize competition ended on 4 October 2004 when Scaled Composites completed the second of two X-Prize flights. The first flight occurred 29 September 2004.
Since the conclusion of the original X-Prize, a number of companies are pursuing suborbital space amusement rides. Information will appear on these pages as it develops.
In the suborbital amusement market, one of the top two contenders is Virgin Galactic. This company offers rides out of Spaceport America, approximately 55 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico. The first of five spacecraft, VSS Enterprise, was destroyed while undergoing testing. A second, VSS Unity (formerly Voyager), was used until recently retired. A newer ship is under construction.
Blue Origin is another provider for the suborbital amusement market. The were initially one of the C3PO contenders, but eventually lost out as NASA narrowed the field. They fly rides about once a month from Van Horn, Texas.
NASA C3PO
The shortfall in ISS logistics needs after the Shuttle retirement provided a significant opportunity for commercial space transportation services. To stimulate the commercial space transportation industry’s ability to fulfill these needs, NASA established the Commercial Crew & Cargo Program Office.
Last updated: 29 June 2025 13:46:02.
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