SpaceShipOne flight 15P

SpaceShipOne flight 15P
Pilot Mike Melvill moments after exiting SpaceShipOne and becoming the first private astronaut in history, designer Burt Rutan on the left
Mission typeTest flight
OperatorScaled Composites
Mission duration24 minutes
Distance travelled35 kilometers (22 mi)
Apogee100.124 kilometers (62.214 mi)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSpaceShipOne
ManufacturerScaled Composites
Launch mass3,600 kilograms (7,900 lb)
Dry mass1,200 kilograms (2,600 lb)
Crew
Crew size1
MembersMike Melvill
CallsignSpaceShipOne
Start of mission
Launch dateJune 21, 2004, 14:50 (2004-06-21UTC14:50Z) UTC
Launch siteWhite Knight, Mojave
End of mission
Landing dateJune 21, 2004, 15:14 (2004-06-21UTC15:15Z) UTC
Landing siteMojave

Flight 15P of SpaceShipOne (X0) was the first privately funded human spaceflight. It took place on June 21, 2004. It was the fourth powered test flight of the Tier One program, with the previous three test flights reaching much lower altitudes. The flight carried only its pilot, Mike Melvill, who thus became the first non-governmental astronaut.

This flight was a full-altitude test, but not itself a competitive flight for the Ansari X Prize, the prize for the first non-governmental reusable crewed spacecraft. Problems were encountered during the flight but later corrected, paving the way for SpaceShipOne to make competitive flights later in 2004.