SpaceShipOne: first private crewed spaceflight

On 21 June 2004 pilot Mike Melvill took the experimental spaceplane SpaceShipOne past the edge of space on flight 15P, becoming the first commercial astronaut and the 435th person to reach space. The air-launched, hybrid-rocket-powered craft was developed by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, a joint venture between Paul Allen and Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites. Later that year SpaceShipOne won the US$10 million Ansari X Prize and was immediately retired from active service.