2150 mph (3460 km/h; 961 m/s). The planned apogee altitude was 360,000 feet (110 km), but due to the attitude problem encountered during the climb, the craft actually attained only 328,491 feet (100,124 m). In doing so, it passed the boundary to space at 100 km, making the flight, as planned, officially a spaceflight. It can be calculated that the altitude exceeded 100 km for approximately 10.23 s. Around apogee the craft experienced about 3 minutes of weightlessness. Pilot Mike Melvill opened a bag of M&M's and watched them float around the capsule in free fall. The craft re-entered the atmosphere 22 miles (35 km) south of its planned 5 by 5-mile (8 by 8 km) re-entry zone. The pilot finally corrected the spacecraft's attitude at this point, using a backup trim system. The craft reached Mach 2.9 and experienced deceleration of 5.0 'g (49 m/s²) during descent. The craft switched to gliding configuration at an altitude of 57,000 feet (17.4 km), then returned to the spaceport and landed safely at 08:14. Spectacle Scaled Composites, the makers of SpaceShipOne, announced the planned spaceflight on June 2, 2004, and invited the public to watch. An estimated 11,000 people went to Mojave Spaceport to watch the flight, and millions more watched on television. Distinguished attendees included former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and the Commanding officer of Edwards Air Force Base. Because SpaceShipOne launches to the east of Mojave Spaceport early in the morning, the crowd at the spaceport found themselves looking into the sun when watching the aircraft. Nevertheless, the crowd was exuberant, cheering every milestone in the flight, including the double sonic boom following the thrust phase. After SpaceShipOne landed, White Knight and the chase planes made celebratory passes over the runway. Mike Melvill displayed great excitement, waving to the crowd while standing on top of SpaceShipOne. He also held up a sign reading "SpaceShipOne, GovernmentZero," given to him by a spectator - an apparent reference to the then-ongoing suspension of Space Shuttle flight operations following the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-107. Melvill was greeted by Buzz Aldrin, the second person to have walked on the Moon. Reactions NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe issued a statement about the flight, saying: The X Prize Foundation issued a press release about the flight: The Federal Aviation Administration presented Melvill with astronaut wings in a ceremony at 10:22, two hours after landing. Relation