(Peter Stickney) wrote:

SpaceShipOne isn't going to be researching anything - We already know
how to fly at Mach 2, and have been doing so quite hapilly for 50
years. If the goal is to get instruments to that height, Sounding
Rockets are a much more economical and safer. (As in no Pilot Risk with
no Pilot)

Conversely, something like SS1 can be thought of as a sounding rocket with
people on board. There are some things that can be a lot easier if
they're tended by a person. (A pilot usually *decreases* risk if you want
someone there anyway.)