Mojave in Kern County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Rotary Rocket Roton ATV
First Rocket Powered Vehicle to Fly At Mojave Spaceport
| | 1999 A.D. | |
Photographed by Denise Boose, February 22, 2012
1. Rotary Rocket Roton ATV Marker
Far better it is to dare mighty things...even through checkered by failure, than to rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt
Chief Designer: Bevin McKinney
ATV Chief Engineer & Test Pilot: Marti Sarigul-Klijn
Director of Flight Test & Co-Pilot: Brian Binnie
Erected 2006 by East Kern Airport District Board of Directors.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Air & Space. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #26 Theodore Roosevelt series list.
Location. 35° 3.324′ N, 118° 9.479′ W. Marker is in Mojave, California, in Kern County. It is on Flightline Street, on the left when traveling west. Located across from the Mojave Control Tower, at Legacy Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1434 Flightline Street, Mojave CA 93501, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in California’s San Joaquin Valley, specifically in the Central Valley, in the Mojave Desert, and in the Sierra Nevada. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexicos Alta California.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Voyager Aircraft / Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne Replica (a few steps from this marker); Wen Painter (a few steps from this marker); Albert C. Hansen (a few steps
this page online
Regarding Rotary Rocket Roton ATV. Designed to be the first privately built low-cost spacecraft, it would launch like a rocket and land like a helicopter. Like many other private space companies of the time, they went bankrupt before reaching space.
This full-size, 63 ft tall Atmospheric Test Vehicle (ATV) was built under contract by Scaled Composites for use in hover test flights. The $2.8 million ATV was not intended as an all-up test article, since it had no rocket engine and no heat shielding. The ATV flew three successful test flights in 1999. Rotary Rocket closed in 2001.
Scaled Composites Space Ship One conducted the first privately funded human sub-orbital flight here on June 21, 2004.
In
Photographed by Denise Boose, February 22, 2012
2. Rotary Rocket Roton ATV Marker
Photographed by Denise Boose, February 22, 2012
3. Rotary Rocket Roton ATV
Photographed by Denise Boose, February 22, 2012
4. Rotary Rocket Roton ATV Cockpit
Photographed by Denise Boose, February 22, 2012
5. Rotary Rocket Roton ATV
6. Rotary Rocket Test Flight - 1999
Credits. This page was last revised on August 25, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 2, 2012, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. This page has been viewed 1,605 times since then and 60 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on March 2, 2012, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. 6. submitted on September 29, 2024, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.
