starship-design: X Prize Competitors Move Ahead For First Manned Test Flights

["L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>]

X Prize Competitors Move Ahead For First Manned Test Flights
St Louis Dec 10, 2001

X Prize competitor Steven Bennett of Cheshire, UK recently completed an
unmanned launch of his Nova spacecraft, becoming the fourth X Prize entrant
to successfully fly a spacecraft prototype that eventually will take
citizens to space. Bennett is planning a piloted launch in Spring 2002, the
next step in his quest to capture the $10 million X Prize.

The St. Louis-based X Prize Foundation is awarding $10 million to the first
privately funded person or team to fly a three-person spacecraft to 100km on
two flights within two weeks. The first space-based incentive prize of its
kind, the X Prize is modeled after the Orteig Prize, won by Charles
Lindbergh in 1927 for his historic transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St.
Louis. Bennett is one of 21 registered competitors from five countries vying
for the X Prize.

"The goal of the X Prize is to open space to tourism. Steve Bennett's
successful test flight puts our dream of getting to space one step closer,"
said Peter H. Diamandis, founder and chairman, X Prize Foundation. "His
flight demonstrates the ability of small, entrepreneurial teams from the
private sector to successfully build technology which was previously only
possible by large governments."

"Following our success with Nova we will push ahead with a full-scale test
launch of our X Prize vehicle, Thunderbird, next year with the goal of
making an assault on the X Prize within 18 months," said Bennett. "We intend
to win the X Prize and open space for everyone."

Asked about when he expects a winner, Diamandis commented, "The X Prize has
more than eight teams who are building and demonstrating hardware. We expect
an increased number of test flights in 2002 and hope to have a winner before
the 100th anniversary flight in 2003."

In 1999 Burt Rutan flew Proteus, the "first stage" of his two-stage X Prize
entry, and Mike Kelly successfully demonstrated his patented "tow- launch"
technology. In 2000, the Argentinean X Prize team carried a scale model of
their capsule to 100,000 feet, successfully recovering the space capsule
following its re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. Earlier this year, both
X Prize Canadian teams, daVinci Project and Canadian Arrow unveiled
full-scale mock-ups of their vehicles.
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