03.09.05

Murray and Cantwell Congratulate Paul G. Allen and SpaceShipOne Team on Smithsonian Honors

Crew behind first commercial manned space flight awardedprestigious National Air and Space Museum Trophy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell today congratulated investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen and the SpaceShipOne team for their pioneering work to launch the world's first privately developed manned spacecraft. Allen and the SpaceShipOne team were in Washington , D.C. to receive the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement.

"It is an honor to join with the Smithsonian in recognizing Paul Allen's contributions to American innovation. Thanks to his vision and philanthropic work both science and our imaginations have been pushed forward," Murray said.

Cantwell said, "This is a tremendous accomplishment for Paul and the SpaceShipOne team. In Washington state, we are lucky to have pioneers like Paul Allen who recognize the milestones we can reach through investments in aerospace research and development."

The National Air and Space Museum Trophy is one of the Smithsonian Institution's highest honors. It was established in 1985 to recognize extraordinary achievements in aerospace. Past winners have included the Mars Pathfinder team, Magellan Project team, and the Voyager spacecraft team.

The SpaceShipOne team was awarded the Smithsonian honor for its three successful launches into sub-orbital space in 2004. In June, SpaceShipOne completed the first successful commercial manned flight into suborbital space making test pilot Mike Melvill the country's first civilian astronaut. In October, the SpaceShipOne crew won the Ansari X-Prize, an international competition to launch a private manned spacecraft to an altitude of 100 km twice in two weeks.

Allen, founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc, was the sole funder of SpaceShipOne which was designed by aviation legend Burt Rutan and his research team at the California-based Scaled Composites. Vulcan's technology research and development team was active in the project's overall development and management.

Allen and Rutan will attend a Smithsonian reception to receive their award on Wednesday, March 9.

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