Topic: Space - on June 20, 2004 at 7:14:00 PM CEST
Despite its toy looks, SpaceShipOne is a serious craft ready for blast off
The fat nose covered with blue stars and the pea-shaped port holes make SpaceShipOne seem more like an oversized toy than a serious rocket plane -- but on Monday this craft will attempt to make the world's first private space trip.
The craft, which will aim to rise more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the earth's surface traveling at more than three times the speed of sound, was dreamed up by Burt Rutan, 61, a US engineer who had already worked on the "Voyager," which in 1986 became the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling.
channelnewsasia Special Events / Operations, June 21 Space Flight missionlaunches MSNBC.com plans to offer a live webcast
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