- A 20th anniversary celebration for SpaceShip One takes place at Mojave Air and Space Port
- Pilot Chuck Coleman shares stories and experiences of SpaceShip One.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
There was a special 20th-anniversary celebration for SpaceShip One. We also heard fascinating stories from famous pilot Chuck Coleman.
“Look at what we do at Mojave. That’s real life. And, those actors are pretending to do things. We don’t pretend to do things at Mojave. We make history," Coleman said.
Cathy Hansen added, “And we’re still making history, yay!”
Coleman’s claim to fame more recently is being the flight trainer for actors in the movie, “Top Gun - Maverick.”
But the test flight pilot with more than 10,000 flight hours is also known for his assistance with SpaceShip One. Twenty years ago, on December 17th the aircraft made its first powered flight.
“The morning of some of the flights, all the world was watching. Mojave, California. Tiny, little desert town? Type of thing. And, it’s kind of like, Wow. Look at what we did," Coleman said.
Burt Rutan, the lead designer of SpaceShip One, joined the event via Zoom from Idaho. Mike Melvill, a SpaceShip One test pilot, was in attendance.
Rutan via Zoom: “The whole world’s press was at Kitty Hawk. They weren’t at Mojave. They were at Kitty Hawk to watch 100 years later on the hour, 100 years later the Wright Flyer replica fly.”
Rutan spoke with pride that Spaceship One was a private venture.
“Building a spaceship in his garage and going to space with 20-something people? That’s far-fetched. But, Burt and us did it," Coleman said.
Cathy Hansen, the president of the Mojave Transportation Museum, had a plaque made to honor the late Brian Binnie, the SpaceShip One pilot.
“Kern County should be proud of what we did here and what they do there too. So, thank you Kern County," Coleman said.
To find out about upcoming events at the air and space port, you can sign up for their email newsletter on their website at MojaveAirport.com.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
