far. The spacecraft started rolling rapidly 50 s into the burn, while travelling at Mach 2.7. This was probably due to, or at least exacerbated by, pilot error. The pilot was not highly concerned by this, being confident that he could correct the situation, and he allowed the burn to continue during the roll. He later said "I thought it was kind of cool." The altitude was too high (and thus the atmosphere too thin) for the roll to cause significant aerodynamic stress, and it was correspondingly infeasible to damp the roll rate using the aerodynamic control surfaces. When there was sufficient velocity to assure the achievement of the target altitude, as predicted by the navigational system, the ground controllers recommended that the pilot abort the burn. He promptly did so, 76 s into the burn, cutting it short by 11 s. After engine cutoff, the craft continued climbing while rolling. The pilot did not immediately work to damp the roll. Around apogee he took photographs of the Earth using a digital still camera. The apogee altitude was estimated by the nearby Edwards Air Force Base, based on radar data, to be 337,569 feet (102.9 km). Due to the early burn cutoff, this was far less than originally anticipated. However, it was more than the 100 km necessary to qualify as a spaceflight and satisfy X PRIZE requirements. Early reports said that after the instruction from the ground the pilot had delayed the burn cutoff in order to exceed 100 km; in fact the instruction was issued just after the 100 km altitude was assured, and the pilot's reaction time accounts for the additional 2.9 km. After apogee, the pilot feathered the wing for atmospheric reentry. He then damped out the roll, without difficulty, using the reaction jets. Overall, the craft did 29 complete rolls. Atmospheric reentry proceeded normally, with the craft rapidly righting its attitude due to the stable high-drag configuration. It changed back to gliding configuration normally, glided back to the spaceport, and landed safely at 08:34. White Knight then landed at 08:39. Spectacle As with SpaceShipOne's previous flight, a crowd of thousands watched from Mojave Spaceport. Television coverage also occurred. SPACE.com provided live video from SpaceShipOne's cockpit. Distinguished attendees included: Sean O'Keefe, NASA Administrator Erik Lindbergh, grandson of the pioneering aviator Charles Lindbergh and a member of the X PRIZE Foundation board James Cameron, action film director