WHO SAYS THE SPACE AGE IS OVER?

This article is a joy to read because it focuses on the experiences of SpaceShipOne's pilot, Mike Melville. Apparently, it was quite a ride.

The well-deserved jab at NASA made me giggle:

"But Rutan and his team are the first to do so with no government help -- and not in a titanium machine powered by solid-fuel rockets, but a relatively lightweight craft. It was 'a manned space program designed from scratch,' Rutan boasted, in four years for $20 million -- about what NASA would spend 'on a paper study,' Rutan taunted."

Sprit and Odyssey roam Mars. Cassini-Huygens probes Saturn and its moons. Now, a free-market approach to orbital travel that reinforces the monolithic antiquity of NASA, instead yielding small, efficient private advances.

Decent photos here.

Even better ones, with video and some shots of SpaceShipOne's competitors, here.