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Michael Melvill
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Michael Melvill

American pilot and astronaut
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Also known as: Michael Winston Melvill
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Quick Facts
In full:
Michael Winston Melvill
Born:
Nov. 11, 1940?, Johannesburg, S.Af.
Awards And Honors:
Ansari X Prize (2004)
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Michael Melvill (born Nov. 11, 1940?, Johannesburg, S.Af.) is an American test pilot, the first commercial astronaut, and the first person to travel into space aboard a privately funded spacecraft. Melvill was raised in Durban, S.Af., and attended but did not graduate from Hilton College, a private boarding high school in Hilton. He immigrated to the United States with his family in 1967, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1972. He was hired by American aerospace engineer and aircraft designer Burt Rutan in 1978 and became Rutan’s lead test pilot in 1982. Employed by Rutan’s company, Scaled Composites in Mojave, Calif., ...(100 of 272 words)

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