The company made a splash in April 2003 when it unveiled that it was working on a personal spacecraft, in an attempt to with the X Prize for the first private, manned spaceflight. On the 17th December 2003, they announced the first supersonic aircraft flight by a privately funded company, after their SpaceShipOne experimental rocket plane made its first powered flight, reaching 68000 feet and 930mph (Mach 1.2). On the same day, Paul Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft, confirmed publically the rumours that he is the sponsor behind the SpaceShipOne venture.
Rutan is probably best known for his Voyager aircraft, which his brother, Dick Rutan, and Jeanna Yaeger flew around the world without refueling, in 1986.