SpaceShipOne has rocketed into the history books to become the first private manned spacecraft to fly to the edge of space and back. The craft, built by aviation pioneer Burt Rutan, went over space's 100km (62 mile) boundary, said mission control.
The craft was carried to 50,000ft (15km) by its launcher White Knight at which point it was unleashed. It fired its rockets to continue its trip.
No private craft or non-government-funded pilot has ever been further.
Applause and cheering broke out when the first confirmation of its attitude was announced.
About 3,000 people, including over 500 media crews, descended on the desert to watch the historic flight.
Pilot history The pilot, 62-year-old Scaled Composites vice-president Mike Melvill, stamped his name in the record books as the first non-government-funded pilot to fly a spaceship out of Earth's atmosphere.
Mr Melvill piloted the test flight in May, when it reached 64km (40 miles) to double its previous best.
SpaceShipOne glided very briefly after its launch from White Knight before firing up its rocket for about 80 seconds.
It then blasted off to reach its target height of in a vertical climb at Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound).
The vehicle then altered its wing configuration to allow for high drag, and started to fall back towards Earth during which the pilot was weightless.
At re-entry, the ship's special wing configuration allowed it to glide back down to Earth in about 20 minutes.
Mr Rutan and his team from his company, Scaled Composites, hope the flight will take them closer to winning the Ansari X-prize of $10m (£5.7m) which will be awarded to the first non-government, manned flight into space.
The mission's success means SpaceShipOne will attempt the X-prize at a later stage.
To beat 25 other teams in this race, SpaceShipOne must reach 100km twice in two weeks.
On each occasion it will have to fly with a pilot and at least the ballast equivalent of two other people. Monday's launch is a key step towards claiming the prize.
"This will be the first time that any piloted private spaceship ever goes into space, so it's of pivotal importance to the X-Prize Foundation, and it certainly puts Scaled Composite's team front and centre in the public's view as a front-runner," Gregg Maryniak, executive director of the foundation, told the Associate Press.
When the X-prize is won, it could open up the skies to future tourist trips to the edge of space for those bored of the usual beach holiday.
Back for more The craft escaped Earth's atmosphere, but was unable to orbit the planet because of the speed it was going.
Going sub-orbital is cheaper and far less risky, but it still means the pilot will have a stunning view of Earth.
Burt Rutan has been widely acclaimed for his pioneering achievements in the field of aviation.
White Knight and SpaceShipOne are thought to be revolutionary in many ways. SpaceShipOne's hybrid engine needs special fuel that is safer, and both White Knight and the ship can be reused.
SpaceShipOne's rocket motor, which was custom-built by SpaceDev of San Diego, burns a solid rubber propellant with liquid nitrous oxide - a liquid version of "laughing gas".
It is not volatile and it is more eco-friendly than other space rocket fuels. Its by-products are water vapour, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen.
The conventional space shuttle's solid rocket boosters burn ammonium perchlorate and aluminium.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3811881.stm 
