Club flag, by arrangement between the Explorers Club and the X PRIZE Foundation The same logos were carried as on flight 16P: Scaled Composites "SpaceShipOne: a Paul G. Allen project" on SpaceShipOne "White Knight" on White Knight Virgin Galactic, on the tails Virgin, on the fuselage Ansari X PRIZE, as required by X PRIZE rules The Spirit of St. Louis, a science center M&M's 7-Up Plus Champ Car World Series Flight profile All times are in PDT, which is seven hours behind UTC. This was the local civil time at the spaceport on the day of the flight. The SpaceShipOne pilot was Brian Binnie. White Knight was piloted by Mike Melvill. Taxiing, scheduled for 06:30, began at 06:36. Takeoff from Mojave Spaceport, scheduled for 07:00, took place at 06:49. White Knight then carried SpaceShipOne to the launch altitude, in excess of 43,500 feet (13.3 km). SpaceShipOne separated from White Knight at 07:49, and promptly ignited its rocket. The rocket motor was capable of burning for approximately 87 s. The burn-out altitude was in excess of 200,000 feet (61 km). After burn-out the craft continued to coast upwards. The wing was feathered, into high-drag configuration, during the coasting phase. The spacecraft coasted to apogee at an altitude of , well in excess of the X PRIZE target altitude. It also broke the record altitude of 354,200 feet (107.96 km) for a rocket plane, set by the X-15 in 1963. After apogee, SpaceShipOne reentered the atmosphere in its feathered configuration, and then changed to gliding configuration at 07:57. SpaceShipOne then glided back to the spaceport, deployed landing gear at 4,200 feet (1.28 km), and landed safely at 08:13. White Knight then landed at 08:19. Spectacle As with SpaceShipOne's previous spaceflights, a large crowd watched from Mojave Spaceport. There was also live television coverage, and various websites provided coverage in their medium of preference. Distinguished attendees included: Richard Branson, of Virgin Galactic Paul Allen, of Mojave Aerospace Ventures Rick Searfoss, chief X PRIZE judge Jerry Pournelle, science fiction author X PRIZE The Ansari X PRIZE requires that two spaceflights be made by the same spacecraft within two weeks. SpaceShipOne successfully made its first competitive flight (flight 16P) on September 29, 2004. This second successful competitive flight therefore won the X PRIZE. This was declared by Rick Searfoss, the chief X PRIZE judge, at a post-flight press briefing. The prize was awarded on November