SpaceShipOne and White Knight in flight. Source: Rokits XPrize Gallery. (photo right) (L to R) Marion Blakely, FAA - Chief. Commercial Astronaut- Michael Winston "Mike" Melvill - Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson - Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan - William Brian Binnie & Paul Gardner Allen.
SpaceShipOne : Flown $2 Bill
Launch Date: September 29, 2004 | Splashdown Date: October 4, 2004
About the Provenance
This bill was purchased from a private space collector, who acquired the bill directly from pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie at a space memorabilia show. The bill comes with a photo of both pilots with the bill, and with the detailed letter attesting to its flight status. The letter, written on paper that also flew on both Ansari X-Prize flights, includes the bill’s serial number as well.
About the Bill
This bill, serial number I15894613A, is one of only 10 uncirculated $2 bills that made both of the historic SpaceShipOne flights in 2004 to claim the Ansari X-Prize, and establish SpaceShipOne as the leading private spacecraft vehicle. The bill is signed and dated for each flight by SpaceShipOne pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie. With two pilots needing to fly SpaceShipOne within a week of each other to claim the prize, flying a $2 bill is an appropriate symbolic memento of the historic flights.
The official flight certification letter for the flown $2 bill. Note the box in the lower right hand corner, above the notation of which of the 10 flown bills this is. It states that the stationary was also flown aboard SpaceShipOne.
Melvill and Binnie hold the flown $2 bill with its flown flight certification letter in San Diego California.
SpaceShipOne X-prize Flight #1 video - Mike Melvill flight. With audio.
SpaceShipOne X-prize Flight #2 - Brian Binnie flight. Without audio