Posted on 10/10/2005 6:54:41 PM PDT by KevinDavis
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Several thousand space enthusiasts swarmed to the city's airport for a glimpse of a future in which you might just as easily book a rocket to space as you would a plane to Las Vegas.
The final day of X Prize Cup Week in New Mexico on Sunday drew a throng of would-be astronauts, entrepreneurs and curiosity seekers. They milled about the wind-swept airport grounds transformed for the afternoon into a Tomorrowland-type theme park.
The organizers' goals were to show off what clever things entrepreneurs are doing to get into space, and to promote the X Prize Cup, a weeklong competition scheduled to begin in southern New Mexico next year. The contest will include a rocket race that backers pitch as a NASCAR event in three dimensions.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
LC is not too far from where I live, but I was not able to attend because of work.
Heard one of the speakers. Not sure who, but probably the guy from Apple. What it sounds like, it is intended to become, in 2-3 years, a full-bore advertising campaign including full TV coverage and sponsors. They say NASA meets NASCAR, but it is more like airborne tractor-pulling contests.
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