As the private rocket ship SpaceShipOne soared beyond the atmosphere over the California desert Monday morning for the second time in a week to collect a $10 million prize for the first successful private manned space flight, one Helena native watched with particular pride. After all, some of his work was part of the ship that made the trip.

Chris Raue, 44, a 1978 graduate of Helena High, now owns Raue Originals and Water Jet Machining in Bakersfield, Calif. Raue and his two employees do precision industrial cutting with a blend of high-pressured water and powdered garnet, slicing through anything from 3-4-inch steel to rubber and ornamental stone. Customers include everyone from oil field equipment makers to after-market auto parts sellers.

Raue, whose mother and some siblings still live in the Helena area, said he was contacted by the SpaceShipOne people more than a year ago, shortly after he started his business.

"Somebody else told them about me, and it was soon after we opened so we weren't too busy," he said. "It was just a blessing that they walked in my door."

Raue said that some of the circular cuts he made led him to believe he was working on the craft's windows, but he doesn't know for sure which parts he was cutting.

"They brought me the material and some computer files to cut the parts from, we cut the parts and they went back and put the thing together," he said. "It was top-secret, and they wouldn't tell you what the parts were if you asked."

Raue said the material he cut was a lightweight, high-strength carbon/graphite composite with an aluminum honeycomb in the middle.

"The challenge of it was that the material was so expensive and the unknown was how my machine was going to cut it," he said. "But they said just go ahead, and it worked great."

With the launch and landing taking place about an hour from his shop in the Mojave Desert, Raue said media coverage of the two flights was heavier than it was here. During last week's first flight, the ship spun out of control briefly before being reined in by the pilot. Monday's flight was comparatively without incident.

So, how much of the $10 million prize will be coming Raue's way? He laughed at the suggestion.

"If I could just get an autographed picture, I'd be doing pretty good," he said.

John Harrington can be reached at 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.