Ah yeah. Privately Funded SpaceShipOne Breaks Sound Barrier.

At motor shutdown, 15 seconds after ignition, SpaceShipOne was climbing at a 60-degree angle and flying near 1.2 Mach (930 mph).

Binnie continued the maneuver to a vertical climb, achieving zero speed at an altitude of 68,000 feet. He then configured the ship in its high-drag "feathered" shape to simulate the condition it will experience when it enters the atmosphere after a sub-orbital space flight.

At apogee, SpaceShipOne was in near-weightless conditions, emulating the characteristics it will later encounter during the planned space flights in which it will be at zero-g for more than three minutes.

The X-Prize has to be one of the most positive challenges in recent scientific history. At Burning Man this year, I saw White Knight flying over black rock city. It really got my geek heart thumnpin' (White Knight is the carrier plane that takes SpaceShipOne to altitude before the rocket ignites).