SpaceShip One on the tarmac.
Image: Scaled Composites.

On this date in 2003, the private spacecraft SpaceShip One, built by Burt Rutan’s company called Scaled Composites, performed its second glide test flight. SpaceShip One and Scaled Composites would go on to win the Ansari X-Prize by becoming the first non-governmental organization to launch a reusable crewed spacecraft into space twice within two weeks.