SpaceShipOne Successfully Punches Into Space

Reuters - SpaceShipOne successfully punched beyond the earth's atmosphere on Monday in the world's first attempt at manned commercial space flight.
The privately funded rocket plane was released from a larger plane called the White Knight and ignited its rocket engine to enter space 62 miles above the earth.

The distinctive white rocket plane took off from a runway in the Mojave Desert in California, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, and was expected to land back there.