If the private SpaceShipOne project reminds you of one or more Heinlein novels, you are not alone:

Doug Roberts, 58, of Burien, was one of the first to arrive in his camper early yesterday morning.

“I read ‘Rocket Ship Galileo’ when I was 10 years old, so I’ve been waiting for this for years,” he said.

The book by Robert Heinlein told of some high-school graduates who built a rocket ship in the desert. It’s the book that got Allen hooked on science fiction.

If today’s flight is successful, SpaceShipOne is later expected to contend for the $10 million Ansari X Prize, a competition to launch three people into suborbital space, bring them back safely and do it again within two weeks using the same vehicle. Several private groups are in contention for the prize.

Oddly enough, Rocket Ship Galileo is the only Heinlein novel I haven’t read. I haven’t been able to find it, new or used.