SpaceShipOne flight 14P explained

Operator:Scaled Composites
Aircraft:SpaceShipOne
Aircraft Type:Rocket-powered aircraft
Crew:1
Takeoff Date:May 13, 2004
Takeoff Site:Mojave Airport
Landing Date:May 13, 2004
Landing Site:Mojave Airport

Flight 14P of SpaceShipOne was its third powered flight, which occurred on May 13, 2004. The pilot was Mike Melvill.

Details

SpaceShipOne was released from White Knight at an altitude of 460001NaN1 and a speed of 120 knots (62 m/s). After ten seconds the rocket was lit, for a 55 second burn.

At burn-out the altitude was 1500001NaN1 and the Mach number was 2.5. The craft then coasted to an apogee altitude of 2114001NaN1.

At one point during the flight, the avionics computer froze up and had to be rebooted. Melvill flew the aircraft manually until the computer became operable again.

During reentry, the craft attained Mach 1.9 and deceleration of 3.5 g (34 m/s²). The craft switched to glider configuration at 55,000 feet (17.4 km). The craft returned to the spaceport and landed safely.

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