Xprize: SpaceShipOne Rocket Engine Gets an Upgrade

Posted on: Sep. 13th, 2004 || Source: space.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

When SpaceShipOne screams skyward this month on a mission to win an international human spaceflight competition, its rocket motor will be more powerful than ever, according to the engines builders.

Since its historic June 21 flight, in which SpaceShipOne carried the first civilian pilot to the edge of space and back, spacecraft and engine engineers have been working to boost the vehicle's performance.

"Our motor performed flawlessly during that flight," said Jim Benson, founding chairman and chief executive of the firm SpaceDev, of SpaceShipOne's inaugural manned spaceflight. "But we beefed up the engine even more."

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