Michael Winston Melvill (born November 30, 1940, inJohannesburg,South Africa)[1] is a world-record-breaking pilot[2] and one of thetest pilots forSpaceShipOne, the experimentalspaceplane developed byScaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipOne on its first flight past theedge of space,flight 15P on June 21, 2004,[3] thus becoming the firstcommercial astronaut, and the 435th person to go into space.[4] He was also the pilot on SpaceShipOne'sflight 16P, the first competitive flight in theAnsari X Prize competition.[5]
Mike Melvill | |
|---|---|
 Melvill in 2004 | |
| Born | Michael Winston Melvill (1940-11-30)November 30, 1940 (age 84) |
| Nationality | South African / American[1] |
| Alma mater | Hilton College |
| Occupation | Test pilot |
| Space career | |
Commercial astronaut | |
Time in space | 7 mins (roughly estimated) |
| Selection | SpaceShipOne 2003 |
| Missions | SpaceShipOne flight 15P,SpaceShipOne flight 16P |
Life and career
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In 1978, Melvill met aerospace designer andScaled Composites founderBurt Rutan when he flew to California to show Rutan theVariViggen he had built at his home. Rutan then hired him on the spot. In 1982, he was named Rutan's lead test pilot.[6]
In 1997, Melvill andDick Rutan, Burt's brother, flew twoLong-Eze aircraft that they built side-by-side around the world. This "around the world in 80 nights" flight was called The Spirit ofEAA Friendship World Tour, and some legs of it lasted for over 14 hours.[7]
His famous 2004 flights inSpaceshipOne earned him and the entire project team theAnsari X Prize of $10 million and helped spur the beginning of the globalprivate space race.[5]
Later in his career, he became Vice President/General Manager atScaled Composites.[6]
Mike Melvill holds FAA Commercial certificate, ASEL, AMEL, instrument airplane, rotorcraft-helicopter, glider and now astronaut.[8]
Awards and achievements
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As of January, 2020, Melvill is the sole or joint holder of tenFAI aviation world records in various categories.[9]
He was awarded theIven C. Kincheloe Award in 1999 for high altitude, developmental flight-testing of themodel 281 Proteus aircraft.[6]
ThroughSpaceShipOne flight 15P in 2004, he is known as the first privately fundedhuman spaceflight mission pilot to reach space.[10]
References
edit- ^ab"Michael Melvill - American pilot and astronaut". Britannica. November 28, 2016. RetrievedJune 4, 2019.
- ^"Chronological listing of all known flights around the World". Earthrounders.com. Archived fromthe original on July 12, 2012. RetrievedJuly 3, 2012.
- ^"Scaled Composites: combined white knight spaceshipone flight tests". Scaled.com. Archived fromthe original on August 22, 2010. RetrievedAugust 2, 2010.
- ^"M.Melvill". Worldspaceflight.com. RetrievedAugust 2, 2010.
- ^ab"Astronaut Biography: Michael Melvill". Spacefacts.de. RetrievedAugust 2, 2010.
- ^abc"Melvill". Astronautix.com. Archived fromthe original on October 20, 2010. RetrievedAugust 2, 2010.
- ^"Dick Rutan The Frontiers of Flight – The Last Great World Record". October 10, 2014. Archived fromthe original on August 13, 2020. RetrievedOctober 24, 2017.
- ^"Mike Melvill bio". Archived from the original on December 24, 2005. RetrievedSeptember 26, 2006.
- ^"Records".Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. RetrievedJanuary 19, 2020.
- ^"Mike Melvill". Flyincruisein.com. June 21, 2004. RetrievedAugust 2, 2010.
External links
edit- "Biography at Scaled Composites".Scaled Composites. Archived fromthe original on April 24, 2016.
- Melvill, Mike."Mike and Dick's round the world EAA friendship tour". earthrounders.com. Archived fromthe original on July 19, 2014.
- Boyle, Alan (June 18, 2004)."First private space pilot 'ready to go'".NBC News. Archived fromthe original on April 28, 2021. RetrievedAugust 2, 2010.