Michael Winston "Mike" Melvill (born November 11, 1940) is one of the
test pilotA test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
s for
SpaceShipOne, the experimental
spaceplaneA spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
developed by
Scaled CompositesScaled Composites is an aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman that is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California, United States...
. Melvill piloted SpaceShipOne on its first flight past the edge of space,
flight 15P-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. All measurements are first stated in the U.S...
on June 21, 2004, thus becoming the first
commercial astronautA commercial astronaut is a person trained to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a privately funded spacecraft.-Criteria:The criteria for determining who has achieved human spaceflight vary. The FAI defines spaceflight as any flight over of altitude...
and the 434th person to go into space. He was also the pilot on SpaceShipOne's
flight 16PFlight 16P of SpaceShipOne was a spaceflight in the Tier One program that took place on September 29, 2004. It was the first competitive flight in the Ansari X PRIZE competition to demonstrate a non-governmental reusable manned spacecraft, and is hence also referred to as the X1 flight...
, the first competitive flight in the
Ansari X PrizeThe Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks...
competition.
Early life / Family
Melvill was born in
JohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
before his family moved to Kloof near
DurbanDurban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
. He attended
Highbury Preparatory SchoolHighbury Preparatory School is a private school for boys located in Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-History:Highbury was founded in 1903 by Sibella Douglas McMillan. It was named after Highbury House School in England, which was established by Sibella McMillan's father, the Rev Charles...
and Hilton College.
Later on Melvill moved to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in February 1967 and became a U.S. citizen in 1972. Melvill is married; he and his wife Sally have two sons and four grandchildren.
Test pilot
Melvill met
Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft...
when he showed Rutan the
Rutan VariViggen|-Sources and references:****...
he had built at his home. A longtime acquaintance of Scaled Composites founder
Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft...
, Melvill has flown the first flights of ten of Rutan's aircraft. Melvill also helped develop the release mechanism for SpaceShipOne.
He was the vice president and general manager of Scaled Composites, LLC; he has 25 years of experience as a test pilot, and has logged nearly 7600 hours in over 130 types of aircraft; he retired in October 2007.
Awards & achievements
Melvill is a Fellow of the
Society of Experimental Test PilotsThe Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggestions of the members, assisting in the professional...
; in 1999, he received their Iven C. Kincheloe award for his work in high-altitude development testing Scaled's
Model 281 ProteusThe Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high altitude telecommunications relays. The Proteus is actually a multi-mission vehicle, able to carry various payloads on a ventral pylon...
.
Melvill also built his own
Long EZ-See also:-External links:****...
aircraft, which he flew around the world with
Dick RutanRichard Glenn "Dick" Rutan is an aviator who piloted the Voyager aircraft around the world non-stop with co-pilot Jeana Yeager...
in 1997.
He is also the only person other than Dick Rutan or
Jeana YeagerJeana Yeager is an aviator. She is most famous for co-piloting a non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world in the Rutan Voyager aircraft from 14 to 23 December 1986. The flight took 9 days, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds and covered 24,986 miles , more than doubling the old distance record set by...
to have piloted the Voyager aircraft.
Melvill is the sole or joint holder of nine
FAIThe Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
aviation world records in various categories.
Melvill was the pilot for
SpaceShipOne flight 15P-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. All measurements are first stated in the U.S...
, SpaceShipOne's first spaceflight and the first privately-funded
human spaceflightHuman spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....
mission to reach space, on the morning of June 21, 2004.
In a ceremony two hours after landing, Melvill was awarded his astronaut wings, specifically the
FAA Commercial Astronaut badgeThe Astronaut Badge is a badge of the United States, awarded to military and civilian pilots who have completed training and performed a successful spaceflight...
, the first wings awarded for a non-government space program and the first for a
spaceplaneA spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
flight since the
X-15The North American X-15 rocket-powered aircraft/spaceplane was part of the X-series of experimental aircraft, initiated with the Bell X-1, that were made for the USAAF/USAF, NACA/NASA, and the USN. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the early 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and...
flights of the 1960s.
In 2004 Melville received his second
Iven C. Kincheloe AwardThe Iven C. Kincheloe Award recognizes outstanding professional accomplishment in the conduct of flight testing. It was established in 1958 by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and honors the memory of test pilot and Korean War ace Iven C...
for his work on the
SpaceShipOne program.
External links