SpaceShipOne
Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot remain in the cradle forever. -- K. Tsiolkovsky
As the Wright Flyer skimmed over
The sands of Kitty Hawk,
So you rocketed above
The sands of the Mojave.
Burt Rutan and Paul Allen,
Modern-day Wilbur and Orville,
Watched their dream take flight
From the floor of the desert
To the edge of space.
The new Spirit of St. Louis,
Crossing the atmospheric ocean alone,
You won the prize
And a place in history.
Just as Enterprise's carbon tiles
Proved the shuttle's technology,
Your rubber-burning rocket
Pushes the envelope further.
SpaceShipOne, may you also be
The prototype for the Boeing 707,
Opening new transatmospheric routes,
Hastening the day we boldly go
Beyond the cradle of humanity!
As the Wright Flyer skimmed over
The sands of Kitty Hawk,
So you rocketed above
The sands of the Mojave.
Burt Rutan and Paul Allen,
Modern-day Wilbur and Orville,
Watched their dream take flight
From the floor of the desert
To the edge of space.
The new Spirit of St. Louis,
Crossing the atmospheric ocean alone,
You won the prize
And a place in history.
Just as Enterprise's carbon tiles
Proved the shuttle's technology,
Your rubber-burning rocket
Pushes the envelope further.
SpaceShipOne, may you also be
The prototype for the Boeing 707,
Opening new transatmospheric routes,
Hastening the day we boldly go
Beyond the cradle of humanity!