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The Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field is in
Mojave, California
Mojave (formerly Mohave) is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Kern County, California, United States. Mojave is located east of Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield, and north of Los Angeles, at an elevation of . The town is ...
, United States, at an elevation of . It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of
reusable spacecraft
A reusable spacecraft is a class of spacecraft that have been designed with repeated launch, orbit, deorbit and atmospheric reentry in mind. This contrasts with conventional spacecraft which are designed to be expended (thrown away, allowed to bur ...
, being certified as a
spaceport
A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...
by the
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
on June 17, 2004. The facility covers 2,998 acres (1,213 ha) and has three runways.
History
In 1935,
Kern County
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...
opened the Mojave Airport east of
Mojave, California
Mojave (formerly Mohave) is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Kern County, California, United States. Mojave is located east of Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield, and north of Los Angeles, at an elevation of . The town is ...
to serve the gold and silver mining industry in the area. The airport had two dirt runways, one oiled, but no fueling or servicing facilities. In 1941, the
Civil Aeronautics Board
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1938 and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services including scheduled passenger airline serviceStringer, David H."Non-Skeds: Th ...
began improvements to the airport for national defense purposes that included two asphalt runways and a taxiway. Kern County agreed the airport could be taken over by the military in the event of war.
After the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
in December 1941, the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
took over the airport and expanded it into Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station (MCAAS) Mojave. The two runways were extended and a third one added. Barracks were constructed to house 2,734 male and 376 female military personnel. The expansion of MCAAS Mojave was done by Vinson & Pringle and
Del E. Webb Construction Company
The Del E. Webb Construction Company was a construction company that was founded in 1928 and developed by Del Webb. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, it became the Del E. Webb Corporation a publicly traded company on the New York ...
out of
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
. Civilian employment at the base would peak at 176. The Marines would eventually spend more than $7 million on the base, which totaled .
Many of the Corps' World War II
aces received their gunnery training at Mojave. During World War II, Mojave hosted 29 aircraft squadrons, four Carrier Aircraft Service Detachments, and three Air Warning Squadrons. At its peak, the air station had 145 training and other aircraft. Mojave also had a 75 x 156 foot swimming pool that was used to train aviators in emergency water egress and for recreation. The base's 900-seat auditorium hosted several USO shows that featured
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...
,
Frances Langford
Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades.
She was known as the "GI Nighting ...
and
Marilyn Maxwell
Marvel Marilyn Maxwell (August 3, 1921 – March 20, 1972) was an American actress and entertainer. In a career that spanned the 1940s and 1950s, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War ...
.
With the end of World War II, MCAAS was disestablished on February 7, 1946; a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
Air Station (NAS) was established the same day. The Navy used the airport for drone operations for less than a year, closing it on January 1, 1947. The base remained closed for four years until the outbreak of the Korean War. Mojave was reactivated as an auxiliary landing field to
MCAS El Toro
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located next to the community of El Toro, near Irvine, California.
Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the home of Marine Corps Aviation on the West Coast ...
.
In 1951, scenes from the movie ''
The Las Vegas Story'' were filmed at the deserted airport. A helicopter chased a car around the base, at several points flying at speed through an open-ended hangar. The control tower shown on the RHS of this article was featured at the climax of the chase.
On 22 August 1951, the
11th Naval District announced the award to R. R. Hensler, of Sun Valley, of a $1.307 million contract for the extension and strengthening of the runway at the Marine Corps auxiliary airfield.
The airport was recommissioned as a MCAAS on December 31, 1953.
Squadrons used Mojave for ordnance training when El Toro had bad weather. Marine Corps reserve units were temporarily deployed to Mojave for two-week periods. MCAAS Mojave personnel peaked at 400 military and 200 civilians during this period.
In 1961, after the Marine Corps transferred operations to
MCAS El Centro,
Kern County
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...
obtained title to the airport. In February 1972, the East Kern Airport District (EKAD) was formed to administer the airport; EKAD maintains the airport to this day. To a great extent EKAD was the brainchild of Kern County rancher and aviator Dan Sabovich, who heavily lobbied the state for the airport district's creation and ran EKAD until 2002.
From 1974 to 1979,
Golden West Airlines
Golden West Airlines was a commuter airline that operated flights on a high volume schedule in California. It ceased operations in 1983.
History
The original Golden West Airlines, headquartered at Van Nuys, California, was founded in 1968 ...
scheduled flights on
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...
s direct to Los Angeles (
LAX
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
).
On November 20, 2012, the EKAD Board of Directors voted to change the name of the district to the Mojave Air and Space Port. Officials said that the spaceport name is well known around the world, but EKAD is not. The change took effect on January 1, 2013.
In 2022, "Rutan Field" was added to the airport's name in honor of the Rutan brothers (
Burt
Burt is a given name and also a shortened form of other names, such as Burton and Herbert, or a place name.
Burt may refer to:
People
*Burt Alvord (1866–after 1910), American Old West lawman and outlaw
*Burt Bacharach (born 1928), American com ...
and
Dick
Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to:
Media
* ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia
* Dicks (band), a musical group
* ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film
* "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat
Names
...
), its board stating that the Rutans' aviation achievements "have played a key role in the evolution of the aerospace industry and the success of the Mojave Air & Space Port organization."
Activities
Besides being a general-use public airport, Mojave has three main areas of activity: flight testing, space industry development, and aircraft heavy maintenance and storage.
Air racing
The airport has a rich history in
air racing
Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a prev ...
. In 1970, a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Unlimited race was held—the first closed-course pylon race to include pit stops. The race was notable in that it featured a
DC-7
The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. A derivative of the DC-6, it was the last major piston engine-powered transport made by Douglas, being developed shortly after the ear ...
that flew non-stop and finished sixth out of twenty aircraft. The race was won by Sherm Cooper in a highly modified
Hawker Sea Fury
The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and one of the fastest production single reciprocating engine aircraft e ...
which also flew non-stop. The following year the race was shortened to , and was again won by a Hawker Sea Fury, this time flown by Frank Sanders. From 1973 to 1979 Air Race Management (run by famed race pilots
Clay Lacy
Hershel Clay Lacy (born August 14, 1932) is the founder and former chief executive officer of Clay Lacy Aviation, established in 1968 as the first executive jet charter company in the Western United States.
His professional resume includes pilot ...
and
Lyle Shelton
Lyle Thomas Shelton (1934–2010) was an American aviator who set the world's absolute propeller-driven 3-kilometer speed record of 528.329 mph. He was born in Brownfield, Texas on June 15, 1933. A former US Naval Aviator, he was an airline ...
) organized a series of Reno-syle races at Mojave featuring Unlimiteds, T-6's,
Formula-1's, and Biplanes. In 1973 and '74, the program also included jet races. Unlimited winners at Mojave included Lyle Shelton in 1973, Mac McClain in 1974 and 1976, Dr. Cliff Cummins in 1975, and
Steve Hinton
Steve Hinton is an American aviator who held a world speed record from 1979 to 1989 and won six Unlimited-class air races, including two national championships. He won four consecutive Unlimited races in one year, and remains the only pilot ever t ...
in 1978 and '79. The races at Mojave were hampered by constant winds, and extreme temperatures. In the 2000s,
California HWY 58 was extended to bypass the town of Mojave, which cut directly across the race course—thus precluding any future racing events on the site. In 1983, Frank Taylor set the 15 kilometer (9.3 mile) closed-course speed record at at Mojave in the
P-51 Dago Red. Over the years, several notable teams have been based out of Mojave.
In 1990 Scaled Composites rolled out the radical
Pond Racer, built and tested on-site. In the mid-1990s, the Museum of Flying based its two racers
Dago Red
''Dago Red'' is a North American P-51 Mustang (44-74996), restored as a competitive air racer by Frank Taylor in 1981. Dago Red holds several world records, including the 15 km (517.323 mph) set in 1983. Frank Taylor piloted the plane ...
and Stiletto out of Mojave as well. Since the early 1980s, the oft-talked about, but rarely seen, Wildfire (a custom-built Unlimited based around a T-6 airframe) has slowly been developed in a Mojave hangar. Ralph Wise's many air racing projects, including the Sport Class Legal GT400 and his V-8 powered unlimited, the GT500, both were designed and built at Mojave (the GT500 spent its early life at
Camarillo
Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...
). The GT 400 Quicksilver ultralight program is also based out of Mojave.
Flight testing
Flight testing activities have been centered at Mojave since the early 1970s, due to the lack of populated areas surrounding the airport. It is also favored for this purpose due to its proximity to
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
, where the airspace is restricted from ground level to an unlimited height, and where there is a supersonic corridor. Mojave is also the home of the
National Test Pilot School
The National Test Pilot School (NTPS) is the only civilian test-pilot school in the United States, located in Mojave, California. It is organized as a not-for-profit educational institute under California state law and is governed by a board of ...
,
Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develo ...
and
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and his British Virgin Group retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and operates from New Mexico. The company i ...
/
The Spaceship Company
The Spaceship Company (TSC) is a British/American spacecraft manufacturing company that was founded by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson in mid-2005 and was jointly owned by Virgin Group (70%) and Scaled Composites (30%) until 2012 when Virgin Gal ...
.
Space industry development
Beginning with the
Rotary Rocket
Rotary Rocket Company was an aerospace company in the late 1990s. Its founders were among the first to recognize that the end of the Cold War represented a significant shift away from the militarization of space, to a new civilian-led, commercia ...
program, Mojave became a focus for small companies seeking a place to develop space access technologies. Mojave Spaceport has been a test site for several teams in the
Ansari X Prize, most notably the
Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develo ...
SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" a ...
, which conducted the first privately funded human sub-orbital flight on June 21, 2004. Other groups based at the Mojave Spaceport include or have included
XCOR Aerospace
XCOR Aerospace was an American private spaceflight and rocket engine development company based at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, Midland International Air and Spaceport in Midland, Texas and the Amsterdam area, the Netherla ...
,
Masten Space Systems
Masten Space Systems was an aerospace manufacturer startup company in Mojave, California (formerly in Santa Clara, California) that was developing a line of vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) rockets, initially for uncrewed research sub- ...
,
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and his British Virgin Group retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and operates from New Mexico. The company i ...
,
The Spaceship Company
The Spaceship Company (TSC) is a British/American spacecraft manufacturing company that was founded by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson in mid-2005 and was jointly owned by Virgin Group (70%) and Scaled Composites (30%) until 2012 when Virgin Gal ...
,
Stratolaunch Systems
Stratolaunch LLC is an American aerospace company providing high-speed flight test services. It was originally formed in 2011 to develop a new air-launched space transportation system, with its corporate headquarters located in Seattle, Washi ...
, and
Firestar Technologies.
[
][
]
Other companies with operations at Mojave include or have included
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...
,
Vector Launch
Vector Launch, Inc. (formerly Vector Space Systems) is an American space technology company which aims to launch suborbital and orbital payloads. Vector Launch declared bankruptcy in December 2019 and re-emerged in October 2020.
History
The c ...
and
Interorbital Systems
Interorbital Systems (IOS) is an American rocket and satellite manufacturer located in Mojave, California. The company was founded in 1996 by Roderick and Randa Milliron and is currently completing the development of the worlds lowest-cost orbital ...
.
The East Kern Airport District was given spaceport status by the
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
for the Mojave Air and Spaceport through June 16, 2019.
[
][
]
Aircraft heavy maintenance, storage and event center
The Mojave airport is also known as a storage location for commercial airliners, due to the vast area and dry desert conditions. Numerous Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
, McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...
, Lockheed, and Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
jetliners including wide-body aircraft previously or currently owned by major domestic and international airlines are stored at Mojave. Some aircraft reach the end of their useful lifetime and are scrapped at the Mojave aircraft boneyard
An aircraft boneyard or aircraft graveyard is a storage area for aircraft that are retired from service. Most aircraft at boneyards are either kept for storage with some maintenance or have their parts removed for reuse or resale and are then sc ...
, while others are refurbished and returned to active service.
The airport refurbished an old United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
hangar from the World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
era into a modern event center. It was previously used for water survival training then transformed into the Stuart O. Witt Event Center with over 23,000sf of multi-use space.
First flights and significant events
* July 1, 1942 — Construction begins on Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
Auxiliary Air Station at Mojave.[
]
* July 31, 1944 — USMC Capt. Edward Shaw, a decorated World War II ace, was killed while test-flying an F4U Corsair
* February 7, 1946 — MCAAS disestablished.
* December 31, 1953 — MCAAS Mojave re-established.
* May 21, 1975 — First flight of the Rutan VariEze
The Rutan VariEze is a composite, canard aircraft designed by Burt Rutan. It is a high-performance homebuilt aircraft, hundreds of which have been constructed. The design later evolved into the Long-EZ and other, larger cabin canard aircraft ...
* June 30, 1978 — First flight of the Rutan Defiant
The Rutan Model 40 Defiant is a four-seat, twin-engine homebuilt aircraft with the engines in a push-pull configuration. It was designed by aerospace engineer Burt Rutan for the Rutan Aircraft Factory.
]
Development
The prototype Defiant, ...
* June 12, 1979 — First flight of the prototype of the Rutan Long-EZ
The Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ is a tandem 2-seater homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan's Rutan Aircraft Factory. The Long-EZ has a canard layout, a swept wing with wingtip rudders, and a pusher engine and propeller. The tricycle landing ge ...
* April 3, 1980 — First prototype Bombardier Challenger 600
The Bombardier Challenger 600 series is a family of business jets developed by Canadair after a Bill Lear concept, and then produced from 1986 by its new owner, Bombardier Aerospace.
At the end of 1975, Canadair began funding the developmen ...
crashed in the Mojave desert, killing one of the pilots; flight test program was operating from Mojave at the time.
* September 25, 1981 — National Test Pilot School opens
* August 23, 1983 — First flight of the Boeing Skyfox
The Boeing Skyfox is an American twin-engined jet trainer aircraft, a highly upgraded development of the Lockheed T-33. It was designed as a primary trainer to compete with and replace the Cessna T-37 Tweet.[Starship
A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems.
The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...]
* January 7, 1986 — Voyager homecoming, after round-the-world record flight.
* July 12, 1988 — First flight of the Scaled Composites Triumph
* February 19, 1990 — First flight of the Scaled Composites ARES
The Scaled Composites ARES is a demonstrator aircraft built by Scaled Composites. ARES is an acronym for ''Agile Responsive Effective Support''.
Development
In 1981, U.S. Army Aviators Jim Kreutz and Milo Burroughs undertook a study for a ''lo ...
* July 26, 1998 — First flight of the Scaled Composites Proteus
The Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-altitude long-endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high-altitude telecommunications relays. The Proteus is a multi-mission vehicle able to ...
* March 1, 1999 — Rollout of the Rotary Rocket
Rotary Rocket Company was an aerospace company in the late 1990s. Its founders were among the first to recognize that the end of the Cold War represented a significant shift away from the militarization of space, to a new civilian-led, commercia ...
Roton ATV.
* July 28, 1999 — First flight of the Rotary Rocket
Rotary Rocket Company was an aerospace company in the late 1990s. Its founders were among the first to recognize that the end of the Cold War represented a significant shift away from the militarization of space, to a new civilian-led, commercia ...
Roton ATV.
* October 12, 1999 — Third, final and longest flight of Rotary Rocket
Rotary Rocket Company was an aerospace company in the late 1990s. Its founders were among the first to recognize that the end of the Cold War represented a significant shift away from the militarization of space, to a new civilian-led, commercia ...
Roton ATV.
* October 8, 2000 — First firing of an XCOR Aerospace
XCOR Aerospace was an American private spaceflight and rocket engine development company based at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, Midland International Air and Spaceport in Midland, Texas and the Amsterdam area, the Netherla ...
LOX
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an appli ...
-powered rocket engine.
* July 21, 2001 — First flight of the XCOR EZ-Rocket
The XCOR EZ-Rocket was a test platform for the XCOR XR-4A3 rocket propulsion system. The airplane was a modified Rutan Long-EZ, with the propeller replaced by first one, then later a pair of pressure-fed regeneratively cooled liquid-fueled rock ...
, flown by Dick Rutan
Richard Glenn Rutan (born July 1, 1938) is a retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight ...
(single-engine configuration).
* October 6, 2001 — First flight of a twin engine rocket plane, again the XCOR EZ-rocket
The XCOR EZ-Rocket was a test platform for the XCOR XR-4A3 rocket propulsion system. The airplane was a modified Rutan Long-EZ, with the propeller replaced by first one, then later a pair of pressure-fed regeneratively cooled liquid-fueled rock ...
.
* May 31, 2002 — First flight of the Toyota TAA-1
The Toyota TAA-1 (also referred to as the TA-1) was a prototype general aviation aircraft substantially built and test flown by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites under contract with Toyota.
Design and development
First flight of the aircraft took ...
, built by Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develo ...
.
* July 24, 2002 — First touch-and-go of a rocket-powered aircraft, the XCOR EZ-Rocket (world record).
* August 1, 2002 — First flight of Scaled Composites White Knight
The Scaled Composites Model 318 White Knight (now also called ''White Knight One'') is a jet-powered carrier aircraft that was used to launch its companion SpaceShipOne, an experimental spaceplane. The White Knight and SpaceShipOne were designed b ...
* September 18, 2002 — First flight of world's largest jet engine, GE90-115B on GE's Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
testbed aircraft.
* May 20, 2003 — First captive flight, unmanned, of SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" a ...
* July 29, 2003 — First manned captive flight of SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" a ...
* August 7, 2003 — First free-flight of SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" a ...
* December 17, 2003 — First powered flight of SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" a ...
, on 100th anniversary of powered flight by the Wright Brothers.
* March 5, 2004 — First flight of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
The Scaled Composites Model 311 Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer ( registered N277SF) is an aircraft designed by Burt Rutan in which Steve Fossett first flew a solo nonstop airplane flight around the world in slightly more than 67 hours (2 days 19 h ...
* June 17, 2004 — Mojave designated a Spaceport by the FAA.
* June 21, 2004 — SpaceShipOne flight 15P
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, the previous three test flights having reached much lower altitudes ...
, the first spaceflight of SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" a ...
.
* September 29, 2004 — First Ansari X Prize flight of SpaceShipOne.
* October 4, 2004 — X-Prize-winning flight of SpaceShipOne.
* June 21, 2005 — First captive flight of Boeing X-37
The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United Stat ...
under Scaled Composites White Knight
The Scaled Composites Model 318 White Knight (now also called ''White Knight One'') is a jet-powered carrier aircraft that was used to launch its companion SpaceShipOne, an experimental spaceplane. The White Knight and SpaceShipOne were designed b ...
* December 3, 2005 — First departure of a rocket-powered aircraft on a point-to-point flight (XCOR EZ-Rocket, departed MHV for California City
California City is a city located in northern Antelope Valley in Kern County, California, United States. It is north of the city of Los Angeles, and the population was 14,973 at the 2020 census. Covering , California City has the third-largest ...
, flown by Dick Rutan).
* December 15, 2005 — First arrival of a rocket-powered aircraft on a flight originating at another airport (XCOR EZ-Rocket return flight from California City, piloted by Rick Searfoss).
* April 7, 2006 — First free flight of Boeing X-37
The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United Stat ...
(take-off from Mojave, landing at Edwards)
* January 23, 2007 — First flight of the Lockheed CATBird
The Lockheed Martin CATBird is a highly modified Boeing 737-330 designed as an avionics flight testbed aircraft. The name is an adaptive acronym, from ''Cooperative Avionics Test Bed''; ''CATBIRD'' is Lockheed's ICAO-designated company callsig ...
* July 26, 2007 — Explosion with at least three fatalities at Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develo ...
facility.
*January, 2008 — Arrival of C-GAUN involved in the incident of Air Canada Flight 143
Air Canada Flight 143, commonly known as the Gimli Glider, was a Canadian scheduled domestic passenger flight between Montreal and Edmonton that ran out of fuel on Saturday, July 23, 1983, at an altitude of , midway through the flig ...
for retirement.[Storied 'Gimli Glider' on final approach]
", ''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
''
*December 21, 2008 — First flight of Scaled Composites WhiteKnightTwo
The Scaled Composites Model 348 White Knight Two (WK2) is a quadjet cargo aircraft that is used to lift the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft to release altitude. It was developed by Scaled Composites from 2007 to 2010 as the first stage of Tier 1b, a two- ...
*October 7, 2009 — Lunar Lander Challenge
The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge (NG-LLC) was a competition funded by NASA's Centennial Challenges program. The competition offered a series of prizes for teams that launch a vertical takeoff/vertical landing (VTVL) rocket that achiev ...
flight by Masten Space Systems
Masten Space Systems was an aerospace manufacturer startup company in Mojave, California (formerly in Santa Clara, California) that was developing a line of vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) rockets, initially for uncrewed research sub- ...
wins second place for Level 1 of the NASA competition[
]
*October 30, 2009 — Lunar Lander Challenge
The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge (NG-LLC) was a competition funded by NASA's Centennial Challenges program. The competition offered a series of prizes for teams that launch a vertical takeoff/vertical landing (VTVL) rocket that achiev ...
flight by Masten Space Systems
Masten Space Systems was an aerospace manufacturer startup company in Mojave, California (formerly in Santa Clara, California) that was developing a line of vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) rockets, initially for uncrewed research sub- ...
wins first place for Level 2 of the NASA competition
*January 16, 2010 — AOPA
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a Frederick, Maryland-based American non-profit political organization that advocates for general aviation. AOPA's membership consists mainly of general aviation pilots in the United States ...
president Craig Fuller came to speak at MHV.
*May 26, 2010 — Masten Space Systems
Masten Space Systems was an aerospace manufacturer startup company in Mojave, California (formerly in Santa Clara, California) that was developing a line of vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) rockets, initially for uncrewed research sub- ...
completes the first ever flight of a vertical take-off, vertical landing (VTVL) vehicle with successfully re-light the rocket engine.
*October 10, 2010 — First flight of Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo
The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
SpaceShipTwo is car ...
*February 9, 2011 — First flight of Scaled Composites Firebird Scaled may mean:
* Scaled Composites (often abbreviated as Scaled), formerly the Rutan Aircraft Factory
* Scaled Aviation Industries of Lahore, Pakistan, a Light Sports Aircraft Manufacturer
* Something which has undergone a scale transformation
** ...
*March 30, 2011 — First flight of Scaled Composites BiPod
*January 20, 2012 — Stratolaunch Systems
Stratolaunch LLC is an American aerospace company providing high-speed flight test services. It was originally formed in 2011 to develop a new air-launched space transportation system, with its corporate headquarters located in Seattle, Washi ...
breaks ground for production facility and hangar.
*November 5, 2012 — First flight of Wasabi Air Racing Siren
Wasabi (Japanese: , , or , ; ''Eutrema japonicum'' or ''Wasabia japonica'') or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan and the Russian ...
*April 20, 2013 — Mojave Experimental Fly-in
*April 29, 2013 — First rocket powered flight of Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo
The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
SpaceShipTwo is car ...
*April 16–20, 2014 — Mojave Experimental Fly-in and Week of Record Setting
*July 28, 2014 — Mo'Venture Team Flies Non-Stop to EAA Airventure 2014 in Oshkosh Wisconsin
*October 31, 2014 — The VSS ''Enterprise'', a Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develo ...
SpaceShipTwo
The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
SpaceShipTwo is car ...
class experimental test flight vehicle, crashes during a test flight, killing one of the pilots and injuring the other.
*May 3, 2017 - First suborbital test flight of prototype rocket Vector-R
Vector-R (Vector Rapid) is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle under development by the American aerospace company Vector Launch to cover the commercial small satellite launch segment (CubeSats). Vector Launch went bankrupt in Dece ...
0.1 by Vector Space Systems
Vector Launch, Inc. (formerly Vector Space Systems) is an American space technology company which aims to launch suborbital and orbital payloads. Vector Launch declared bankruptcy in December 2019 and re-emerged in October 2020.
History
The c ...
*December 13, 2018 - The VSS ''Unity'', a Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and his British Virgin Group retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and operates from New Mexico. The company i ...
SpaceShipTwo
The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
SpaceShipTwo is car ...
class vehicle, reaches suborbital spaceflight
A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it will not complete one orbital re ...
for the first time.
*April 13, 2019 - First flight of Stratolaunch Systems
Stratolaunch LLC is an American aerospace company providing high-speed flight test services. It was originally formed in 2011 to develop a new air-launched space transportation system, with its corporate headquarters located in Seattle, Washi ...
aircraft, the world's largest aircraft by wingspan.
*May 25, 2020 - First launch of Launcher One
LauncherOne is a Two-stage-to-orbit, two-stage orbital launch vehicle developed and flown by Virgin Orbit that began operational flights in 2021, after being in development from 2007 to 2020. It is an air launch to orbit, air-launched rocket, d ...
by Virgin Orbit
Virgin Orbit is a company within the Virgin Group which launch service provider, provides launch services for small satellites. On January 17, 2021, their ''LauncherOne'' rocket successfully reached orbit for the first time, and successfully dep ...
(sibling company of Virgin Galactic), which failed shortly after ignition
*January 17, 2021 - First successful Launcher One mission, ELaNa XX
Civilian Aerospace Test Center test programs
*Boeing X-37
The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United Stat ...
*Eclipse 500
The Eclipse 500 (model EA500) is a very light jet (VLJ) originally produced by Eclipse Aviation of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States.
The company was founded in 1998 to develop the 1997 Williams V-Jet II demonstrator.
The prototype first ...
(crosswind landing data)
*General Electric CF34
The General Electric CF34 is a civilian high-bypass turbofan developed by GE Aircraft Engines from its TF34 military engine. The CF34 is used on a number of business and regional jets, including the Bombardier CRJ series, the Embraer E-Jets ...
*General Electric GE90
The General Electric GE90 is a family of high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines built by GE Aviation for the Boeing 777, with thrust ratings from . It entered service with British Airways in November 1995. It is one of three options for the 777 ...
*Lockheed CATBird
The Lockheed Martin CATBird is a highly modified Boeing 737-330 designed as an avionics flight testbed aircraft. The name is an adaptive acronym, from ''Cooperative Avionics Test Bed''; ''CATBIRD'' is Lockheed's ICAO-designated company callsig ...
(post modification and systems flight test)
*Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...
(crosswind landing data)
*Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
VH-71 Kestrel
The Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel was a variant of the AgustaWestland AW101 (formerly the EH101) that was being manufactured to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One U.S. Presidential transport fleet. Originally marketed for vario ...
*McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30
The McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) MD-90 is an American five-abreast single-aisle airliner developed by McDonnell Douglas from its successful model MD-80. The airliner was produced by the developer company until 1997 and then by Boeing Comm ...
[MD-90-30 flight test at The Mojave Virtual Museum Photo Library, Mojave Airport, Flight Test and Development](_blank)
* Air Tractor 401 modified with an Orenda Aerospace
Orenda Engines was a Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer and parts supplier. As part of the earlier Avro Canada conglomerate, which became Hawker Siddeley Canada, they produced a number of military jet engines from the 1950s through the 1970s, a ...
OE600 engine (certification flight test program)["Orenda Recip Engines performs final air tractor tests", ''Aerotech News and Review'', 2001-01-26]
*Rotary Rocket
Rotary Rocket Company was an aerospace company in the late 1990s. Its founders were among the first to recognize that the end of the Cold War represented a significant shift away from the militarization of space, to a new civilian-led, commercia ...
*Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develo ...
White Knight and SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" a ...
* Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 (envelope expansion, flutter, stability and control, crosswind takeoffs and landings)
*Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
The Scaled Composites Model 311 Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer ( registered N277SF) is an aircraft designed by Burt Rutan in which Steve Fossett first flew a solo nonstop airplane flight around the world in slightly more than 67 hours (2 days 19 h ...
*Adaptive Compliant Wing
An adaptive compliant wing is a wing which is flexible enough for aspects of its shape to be changed in flight. Flexible wings have a number of benefits. Conventional flight control mechanisms operate using hinges, resulting in disruptions to the ...
developed by FlexSys Inc flight tested on White Knight[Scott, William B, "Morphing Wings", ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', 2006-11-27][Scott, William B, "White Knight Back in Action", ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', 2006-11-27]
World records set
* FAI Class C-1, unlimited weight
**Group 1, internal combustion engine
***Speed over a straight 15/25 km course: P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
N5410V piloted by Frank Taylor, 832.12 km/h, July 30, 1983.[FAI World Aviation Records Database, accessed June 26, 2011]
**Group 3, turbojet
***Speed over recognised course: Mojave to Gander, Newfoundland
Gander is a town located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately south of Gander Bay, south of Twillingate and east of Grand Falls-Windsor. Located on the nor ...
, Canadair Challenger CL601 N601TG piloted by Aziz Ojjeh, 816.48 km/h July 24, 1984.[
**Group 4, rocket engine
***Altitude Gain, Airplane Launched from a Carrier Aircraft: 85,743 meters, ]SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" a ...
piloted by Mike Melvill
Michael Winston Melvill (born November 30, 1940 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a world-record-breaking pilot and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipO ...
, June 21, 2004.[
***Distance: 16 km, XCOR EZRocket piloted by ]Dick Rutan
Richard Glenn Rutan (born July 1, 1938) is a retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight ...
, December 3, 2005[
*FAI Class C-1a, Landplanes: takeoff weight 300 to 500 kg
**Group 1, internal combustion engine
***Distance, ]Rutan VariEze
The Rutan VariEze is a composite, canard aircraft designed by Burt Rutan. It is a high-performance homebuilt aircraft, hundreds of which have been constructed. The design later evolved into the Long-EZ and other, larger cabin canard aircraft ...
piloted by Frank Hertzler, Mojave to Martinsburg, West Virginia
Martinsburg is a city in and the seat of Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the tip of the state's Eastern Panhandle region in the lower Shenandoah Valley. Its population was 18,835 in the 2021 census estimate, making it the largest city in the E ...
, 3,563.02 km, July 15, 1984.
***Speed over 3 km course with restricted altitude: Sharp Nemesis
The Sharp DR 90 Nemesis is a Formula One Air Racing, Formula One racing aircraft designed by Jon Sharp and built at the Mojave Airport by the Nemesis Air Racing Team. The aircraft is powered by a modified Continental O-200 piston engine.
The Ne ...
piloted by Jon Sharp, 466.83 km/h, November 15, 1998 (aircraft now on display at the National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
)[
***Speed over straight 15/25 km course: ]Sharp Nemesis
The Sharp DR 90 Nemesis is a Formula One Air Racing, Formula One racing aircraft designed by Jon Sharp and built at the Mojave Airport by the Nemesis Air Racing Team. The aircraft is powered by a modified Continental O-200 piston engine.
The Ne ...
piloted by Jon Sharp, 454.77 km/h, October 31, 1998.[
*FAI Class C-1b, Landplanes: takeoff weight 500 to 1000 kg
**Group 1, internal combustion engine
***Distance over a closed course: ]Rutan Long-EZ
The Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ is a tandem 2-seater homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan's Rutan Aircraft Factory. The Long-EZ has a canard layout, a swept wing with wingtip rudders, and a pusher engine and propeller. The tricycle landing ge ...
N79RA piloted by Dick Rutan
Richard Glenn Rutan (born July 1, 1938) is a retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight ...
, 7,725.3 km, December 15, 1979.[
***Speed over a closed circuit of 2,000 km without payload. Rutan Catbird N187RA piloted by ]Dick Rutan
Richard Glenn Rutan (born July 1, 1938) is a retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight ...
, 401.46 km/h, January 29, 1994.[
***Speed over straight 3 km course: GP-5 Sweet Dreams piloted by ]Lee Behel
Wesley "Lee" Behel was an American aviator and air racing champion. He was the creator and, at the time of his death the president, of the "Sport Class" a group of racing airplanes designed for planes under 1000 cubic inches in size that participa ...
, 377.6 m/h, April 12, 2014.[
***Speed over straight 15/25 km course: GP-5 Sweet Dreams piloted by ]Lee Behel
Wesley "Lee" Behel was an American aviator and air racing champion. He was the creator and, at the time of his death the president, of the "Sport Class" a group of racing airplanes designed for planes under 1000 cubic inches in size that participa ...
, 378.7 m/h, April 12, 2014.[
***Time To Climb 3 km: GP-5 Sweet Dreams piloted by Lee Behel, 2:00 min, April 12, 2014.][
**Group 4, Rocket engine
***Distance: 16 km, ]XCOR EZ-Rocket
The XCOR EZ-Rocket was a test platform for the XCOR XR-4A3 rocket propulsion system. The airplane was a modified Rutan Long-EZ, with the propeller replaced by first one, then later a pair of pressure-fed regeneratively cooled liquid-fueled rock ...
piloted by Dick Rutan
Richard Glenn Rutan (born July 1, 1938) is a retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight ...
, December 3, 2005[
*FAI Class C-1c, Landplanes: takeoff weight 1000 to 1750 kg
**Group 1, internal combustion engine
***Speed over a closed circuit of 2,000 km without payload. Rutan Catbird N187RA piloted by ]Mike Melvill
Michael Winston Melvill (born November 30, 1940 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a world-record-breaking pilot and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipO ...
, 413.78 km/h, March 2, 1994.[
***Speed Over a Recognized Course. Mooney 20J N201KC piloted by Christopher Freeze, 280.52 km/h, May 19, 2009][
***Speed over a closed circuit of 1,000 km without payload. Lancair Legacy piloted by Mike Patey, 319 m/h, April 18, 2014.][
***Speed over a closed circuit of 2,000 km without payload. Lancair Legacy piloted by Mike Patey, 319 m/h, April 18, 2014.][
***Speed over a closed circuit of 5,000 km without payload. Rutan Catbird N187RA piloted by Zachary Reeder, 344.44 km/h, April 14, 2014.
*FAI Class C-1d, Landplanes: takeoff weight 1750 to 3000 kg
**Group 1, internal combustion engine
***Distance over a closed course, ]Rutan Voyager
The Rutan Model 76 Voyager was the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's 15,000 foot (4,600 m) runway in the Mojav ...
N269VA, piloted by Dick Rutan
Richard Glenn Rutan (born July 1, 1938) is a retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight ...
and Jeana Yeager
Jeana Lee Yeager (born May 18, 1952) is an American aviator. She co-piloted, along with Dick Rutan, the first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world in the Rutan Voyager aircraft from December 14 to 23, 1986. The flight took 9 days, 3 m ...
, Vandenberg, California to Mojave, 18,658.16 km, July 15, 1986.[
**Group 4, rocket engine
***Altitude Gain, Airplane Launched from a Carrier Aircraft: 85,743 meters, ]SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" a ...
piloted by Mike Melvill
Michael Winston Melvill (born November 30, 1940 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a world-record-breaking pilot and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipO ...
, June 21, 2004.[
*FAI Class C-1e, Landplanes: takeoff weight 3,000 to 6,000 kg
**Group 2, turbojet
***Altitude: ]Scaled Composites Proteus
The Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-altitude long-endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high-altitude telecommunications relays. The Proteus is a multi-mission vehicle able to ...
N281PR, piloted by Mike Melvill
Michael Winston Melvill (born November 30, 1940 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a world-record-breaking pilot and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipO ...
and Robert Waldmiller, 19,277 m, October 25, 2000.[
***Altitude in horizontal flight: ]Scaled Composites Proteus
The Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-altitude long-endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high-altitude telecommunications relays. The Proteus is a multi-mission vehicle able to ...
N281PR, piloted by Mike Melvill
Michael Winston Melvill (born November 30, 1940 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a world-record-breaking pilot and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipO ...
and Robert Waldmiller, 19,015 m, October 25, 2000.[
***Altitude with 1,000 kg payload: ]Scaled Composites Proteus
The Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-altitude long-endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high-altitude telecommunications relays. The Proteus is a multi-mission vehicle able to ...
N281PR, piloted by Mike Melvill
Michael Winston Melvill (born November 30, 1940 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a world-record-breaking pilot and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipO ...
and Robert Waldmiller, 17,067 m, October 27, 2000.[
]
Notable pilots, engineers and other people
* Brian Binnie
William Brian Binnie (April 26, 1953 – September 15, 2022) was a United States Navy officer and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites and flown from 2003 to 2004.
Early life
Bin ...
* Fitzhugh L. Fulton
Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton, Jr. (June 6, 1925 – February 4, 2015), (Lt Col, USAF), was a civilian research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from August 1, 1966, until July 3, 1986, following 23 years of d ...
* Mike Melvill
Michael Winston Melvill (born November 30, 1940 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a world-record-breaking pilot and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipO ...
- pilot of SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" a ...
* Burt Rutan
Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (; born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the record- ...
- founder of Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develo ...
* Dick Rutan
Richard Glenn Rutan (born July 1, 1938) is a retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight ...
- pilot of the first non-stop, un-refueled flight around the world with Jeana Yeager
Jeana Lee Yeager (born May 18, 1952) is an American aviator. She co-piloted, along with Dick Rutan, the first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world in the Rutan Voyager aircraft from December 14 to 23, 1986. The flight took 9 days, 3 m ...
in the Rutan Voyager
The Rutan Model 76 Voyager was the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's 15,000 foot (4,600 m) runway in the Mojav ...
* Richard A. Searfoss
Richard Alan Searfoss (June 5, 1956 – September 29, 2018) was an American aviator who was United States Air Force colonel, NASA astronaut and test pilot.
Early life
Searfoss was born on June 5, 1956, in Mount Clemens, Michigan, but had consider ...
* Doug Shane
Douglas Bennett Shane is President of The Spaceship Company, as well as an American test pilot who has trained as a commercial astronaut. He was a member of the Scaled Composites astronaut team and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the ex ...
* Peter Siebold
Peter Siebold (born 1971) is a member of the Scaled Composites astronaut team. He is their Director of Flight Operations, and was one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo, the experimental spaceplanes developed by the company. On ...
* Jim Tighe[
][
][SpaceShipTwo’s PF-04: A High-Risk Flight]
Douglas Messier, Parabolic Arc, 9 November 2015, accessed 2015-11-28.
* Stuart O. Witt - former CEO of Mojave Air and Space Port and member of the National Space Council
The National Space Council is a body within the Executive Office of the President of the United States created in 1989 during the George H. W. Bush administration, disbanded in 1993, and reestablished in June 2017 by the Donald Trump administrati ...
Users Advisory Group
* George T. Whitesides - CEO of Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and his British Virgin Group retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and operates from New Mexico. The company i ...
* Jeana Yeager
Jeana Lee Yeager (born May 18, 1952) is an American aviator. She co-piloted, along with Dick Rutan, the first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world in the Rutan Voyager aircraft from December 14 to 23, 1986. The flight took 9 days, 3 m ...
- pilot of the first non-stop, unrefueled flight around the world with Dick Rutan
Richard Glenn Rutan (born July 1, 1938) is a retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight ...
in the Rutan Voyager
The Rutan Model 76 Voyager was the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's 15,000 foot (4,600 m) runway in the Mojav ...
Accidents and incidents
On July 26, 2007, there was a test stand accident at Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develo ...
that killed three employees and injured three others. The accident occurred during work on Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and his British Virgin Group retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and operates from New Mexico. The company i ...
's SpaceShipTwo
The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
SpaceShipTwo is car ...
.
On February 4, 2009, Douglas DC-3-65/AR N834TP of the National Test Pilot School
The National Test Pilot School (NTPS) is the only civilian test-pilot school in the United States, located in Mojave, California. It is organized as a not-for-profit educational institute under California state law and is governed by a board of ...
was substantially damaged in a take-off accident. Both sets of undercarriage and the port engine were ripped off. The aircraft was on a local training flight. The accident was caused by an incorrectly set rudder trim.
On Oct. 31, 2014, the SpaceShipTwo
The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
SpaceShipTwo is car ...
spacecraft VSS ''Enterprise'' broke up during a test flight after being dropped from the WhiteKnightTwo VMS Eve carrier aircraft. Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develo ...
co-pilot Michael Alsbury
Michael Tyner Alsbury (March 19, 1975 – October 31, 2014) was an American test pilot for Scaled Composites. He died on October 31, 2014, during test flight PF04 of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo VSS ''Enterprise''.
Personal life
Alsbury ha ...
was killed. Scaled Composites pilot Peter Siebold
Peter Siebold (born 1971) is a member of the Scaled Composites astronaut team. He is their Director of Flight Operations, and was one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo, the experimental spaceplanes developed by the company. On ...
parachuted to safety. SpaceShipTwo was being developed by Scaled Composites for Sir Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields.
Branson expressed ...
's Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and his British Virgin Group retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and operates from New Mexico. The company i ...
company. The accident occurred about north of the Mojave Air & Space Port, where the test flight originated.
See also
* List of airports in Kern County, California The following is a list of airports in Kern County, California:
International airports
* Meadows Field is the primary commercial airport serving the county and is one of two international airports serving the San Joaquin Valley. It is located appr ...
*List of United States Marine Corps installations
This is a list of installations used by the United States Marine Corps, organized by type and state. Most US states do not have active Marine Corps bases; however, many do have reserve bases and centers. In addition, the Marine Corps Security Fo ...
* Grey Butte Auxiliary Airfield used by Mojave Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) in WW2
Notes
External links
Official Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV) website
*
*
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060620080704/http://www.mojave.ca.us/museum/index.htm Mojave Transportation Museum — virtual museum websitebr>Yahoo Groups.com: Mojave Airport Group
— with discussions index
Airliners.net: Mojave Airport photos
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd33W2K3Ncc YouTube.com: video on Mojave Air & Space Port (MHV)
''Popular Mechanics'' 2009 cover story: "Mojave Air & Space Port"
KMHV page at ClearanceWiki
— airport notes for instrument-rated pilots
{{Authority control
Spaceports in the United States
Airports in Kern County, California
Aircraft boneyards
Mojave, California
Mojave Desert
Buildings and structures in Kern County, California
Science and technology in Greater Los Angeles
Scaled Composites
Virgin Galactic
Airports established in 2004
2004 establishments in California
Del E. Webb buildings