SpaceDev Powers SpaceShipOne to Break Sound Barrier

SpaceDev Powers SpaceShipOne to Break Sound Barrier
Flight on Historic 100th Anniversary of Wright Bros.



POWAY, CA (December 17, 2003) – SpaceDev’s (OTCBB: SPDV) revolutionary rocket motor technology successfully powered SpaceShipOne on its historic first powered flight, on the 100th anniversary of the first human powered flight by the Wright brothers. Today, a significant milestone was achieved by our customer, Scaled Composites, as they successfully tested the first manned supersonic flight of an aircraft developed by a small company’s private, non-government effort.



"It was an incredible sight!" said SpaceDev founding chairman and chief executive Jim Benson. "We were watching as the White Knight dropped SpaceShipOne at about ten miles up, and we waited breathlessly as the White Knight pealed off and SpaceShipOne fell for a few seconds. Then with a really visible flash of light and stream of smoke, our rocket motor lit, and SpaceShipOne seemed to blast straight up for about 15 seconds that seemed like minutes. Then the flame and smoke stopped, but you could still see little SpaceShipOne coasting up toward space at an incredible speed. What a sight! It was even more exciting than watching Apollo 17 lift off at night way back in 1972. After working on this project for four years, space is now exciting again!"