In the first step towards opening space flights to private individuals, the United States has issued a license for a manned suborbital rocket.

The Federal Aviation Administration gave a one-year license to Scaled Composites of Mojave, California, headed by Burt Rutan.

Rutan is also known for designing the Voyager airplane that made the first nonstop, un-refueled flight around the world in 1986.

"This is a big step," FAA spokesman Henry Price said. The Scaled Composites craft comprises a rocket plane, dubbed SpaceShipOne, and the White Knight, an exotic jet designed to carry it aloft for a high-altitude launch.

SpaceShipOne, made of graphite and epoxy, has short wings and twin vertical tails. It reached 68,000 feet in a trial flight.

The license is a prerequisite for the X Prize competition, an international space race that will give $10 million to the first company or person to launch a manned craft to 62.5 miles above the Earth, and then do it again within two weeks. The craft must be able to carry three people.

The FAA is considering two other applications, Price added.