Touring Space

The June 21 flight of the first privately built manned spacecraft marked a turning point for the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation. To celebrate, Associate Administrator Patricia Grace Smith awarded the 03-year-old test pilot, Mike Melvill of Scaled Composites Inc., golden astronaut wings. "I looked in his eyes, and they were welling up with surprise and appreciation," she says. "My only worry was that he would start crying."

That day, the Alan Shepard of space tourism had taken his Mojave, Calif., employer's creation, SpaceShipOne, for a z/f-minute suborbital spin outside Earth's visible atmosphere. During the trip to the edge of space and back, a critical flight control system failed and Melvill fought to stay on course. A backup system saved the day, enabling the craft to glide to a safe landing in the desert. Because of the problem, SpaceShipOne missed its touchdown target by 22 miles and fell short of its altitude target by more than five miles.