October 4, 2004 (Mojave Ca)
A who’s who of astronauts, aviation pioneers, activists, space advocates and the press converged on the tiny hamlet of Mojave California on the occasion of the capture of the Ansari- X-Prize by Burt Rutan and his team of SpaceshipOne.
Board Members Ivor Dawson and Dr. Harvey Wichman, advisors Ceci Stratford, Larry Evans and the X-Prize’s youngest official participant—Justin Houchin represented the Traveling Space Museum. Justin, a member of the Interorbital Systems team along with legendary aviatrix Wally Funk gave a number of press interviews. Justin even scored an interview with CNN’s Miles O’Brien.
Earlier, the TSM squad found themselves at several X-prize parties –some of which drew aviation celebrities like Bob Hoover, Jeri Cobb, and Erik Lindbergh and jazz-pop celebrity Herbie Hancock. A highlight for Justin was being reunited with his National Test Pilot School cronies as well as First Teenager in Space Advisor astronaut Rick Searfoss.
Congratulations to Bert Rutan and the SpaceShipOne Team, TSM salutes America’s newest space heroes.
