Rocketeers…Start Your Engines! X Prize Cup Planned

space.com ^ | 07/17/03 | Leonard David

[KevinDavis]

A new twist in the X Prize competition to foster privately built suborbital spaceships is soon to be announced, Peter Diamandis, head of the X Prize Foundation, said Wednesday. An X Prize Cup is to be staged, hosted at one of over a dozen spaceports now under development.

Diamandis discussed the plan at The Next 100 Years, an International Air & Space Symposium and Exposition being held here this week in Dayton, Ohio.

At present, some 24 teams around the world are attempting to win a $10 million X Prize purse -- a competition meant to spark a suborbital space tourism market. That money could be claimed as early as this year, but no later than January 2005 when the X Prize offer expires.

A follow-on plan to the current competition is to bring together suborbital spaceship developers every year for two weeks at a selected spaceport. Teams would compete for cash prizes, attempting to set new records. Highest altitude reached; time-to-climb; time between reflight; total number of people carried – are all among the types of competitive records that rocketeers would start their engines over, trying to win cash awards.

"The notion is to try and bring the money and excitement of NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) and Formula One racing into space and allow the teams to continue to expand the envelope incrementally on what they are doing…to continue to push forward," Diamandis said.

"What we’ll be announcing very soon is called the X Prize Cup. We are in discussions with 15 spaceports in the U.S. today that want to capture this kind of business," Diamandis said. A Request for Proposals is to be issued next week inviting spaceports to vie for the locale to stage the X Prize Cup, he said.

[KevinDavis]

I wonder if we can start a betting pool of some sort.

[KevinDavis]

Space Ping! This is the space ping list! Let me know if you want on or off this list!

[Poohbah]

The race is not always to the swift, nor the struggle always to the strong, nor the first aeronautical laurels always to the Rutan op at Scaled Composites...

But that's the way to bet :o)

[Support Free Republic]

Hi

[RightWhale]

Highest altitude reached; time-to-climb; time between reflight; total number of people carried – are all among the types of competitive records that rocketeers would start their engines over, trying to win cash awards.

This is OMG crazy. They'll have an accident, the lawyers and regulators will show up, and that will be the end of it all. Bet on that.

[Brett66]

This is excellent, the X-Prize won't stop with the first sub-orbital flight. They will continue to provide prizes that will push the envelope. They could even be offering a Lunar X-Prize in another 10-20 years.

[Mr. Lucky]

We are in discussions with 15 spaceports in the US today.

OK. I wonder if this $10 Million prize of theirs is backed by a bank letter of credit.

[JRandomFreeper]

This is OMG crazy.

Faint heart ne're won fair lady.

This is about adults that are alive and free to take risks.

/john

[SauronOfMordor]

This is OMG crazy. They'll have an accident, the lawyers and regulators will show up, and that will be the end of it all. Bet on that.

Hasn't stopped NASCAR

Televise the whole thing. They'll make a mint.

[Poohbah]

Hey, wait...

X-Prize meets NASCAR.

"And trading metal in Low-Earth Orbit are Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr!"

[RightWhale]

There is zero flight testing going on except for Rutan. Some of the participants may have considerable rocketry background, but I wouldn't want to be in the same county when some of the others ignite their spark gaps. No way a rocket fair like that should be happening, it's not at all like the rocket assoc fairs.

[SauronOfMordor]

After a few years of this competition, the logical next step will be the first sub-orbital trans-Atlantic flight

[RightWhale]

They'll make a mint

Maybe. Once. Best they make a static display and no fuel within a mile.

[Squantos]

Duct Tape !! We'll need lots of Duct Tape !!!!

Stay Safe RW !!

[KevinDavis]

I'm real excited about the X-Prize. I'm more excited about the Mars Prize. However who ever wins, space will no longer be just for the few, but for those who wants to go.

[JRandomFreeper]

I thought the British team had done a drop test of their capsule. And were moving forward on other tests.

As long as the flight path is not over inhabited land, I say let them go for it.

As I recall, there were a lot of the early air-mail planes that crashed and caused deaths. Real men keep on going.

/john

[Gunslingr3]

This is OMG crazy. They'll have an accident, the lawyers and regulators will show up, and that will be the end of it all. Bet on that.

You're probably right. God forbid private enterprise and initiative be given the opportunity to show up NASA. That just wouldn't do...

[Monty22]

Can I get the money if I strap myself on a ton of TNT and blast myself into suborbit?

[Arkie2]

Rutan will win this hands down. Anyone care to wager?

[Arkie2]

To win the prize you have to turn your craft around in two weeks and do it all over again. Your plan sounds like the second flight might pose some problems. ;^)