] The government announced Wednesday that it has issued the ] first license for a manned suborbital rocket, a step ] toward opening space flight to private individuals for ] the first time. ] ] The Federal Aviation Administration gave a one-year ] license to Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif., headed by ] Burt Rutan. He is best known for designing the Voyager ] airplane that made the first nonstop, unrefueled flight ] around the world in 1986. ] ] "This is a big step," FAA spokesman Henry Price said. ] ] The Scaled Composites craft consists of a rocket plane, ] dubbed SpaceShipOne, and the White Knight, an exotic jet ] designed to carry it aloft for a high-altitude launch. ] SpaceShipOne, made of graphite and epoxy, has short wings ] and twin vertical tails. It reached 68,000 feet in a ] trial flight. Awesome! -LB Government licenses first privately built, manned rocket |