The United States' first commercial astronaut has placed his personal collection on museum display 19 years (and two days) after he made his first historic launch into space.
Mike Melvill and his wife Sally have donated their archives to the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The new exhibit opened to the public on Friday (June 23) just opposite and underneath a full-scale replica of Melvill's ride, SpaceShipOne.
"The EAA Aviation Museum is unveiling the new Melvill Collection," the association posted to its social media accounts on Tuesday. "It honors Mike Melvill, the nation's first commercial astronaut, who flew SpaceShipOne above 100 kilometers [62 miles] on June 21, 2004."
"Thank you to Mike and Sally Melvill for making this unique display possible," the staff at the EAA wrote.
Although not as expansive as the museum's other two astronaut exhibitions — the EAA has been home to Gemini and Apollo veteran Frank Borman's archives since 2018 and X-15 and space shuttle commander Joe Engle's mementos since 2021 — what the Melvill collection does not have in size, it makes up for in scope. The pieces on display speak to both Mike's career as a record-setting pilot and his and Sally's 62 years together.
