The Ansari X Prize demonstrated that privately-funded prizes can be effective; is the same true for government-sponsored prizes? The major news services haven’t picked up the story yet, but Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has already thrown down the gauntlet for the next great space contest: a $100-million government-sponsored space prize. On October 8, Rohrabacher submitted the “Space and Aeronautics Prize Act” (HR 5336) to the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation calls for the formation of a “Space and Aeronautics Prize” valued at up to $100 million. To claim the prize, a private group must fly a three-person spaceship of...