SpaceShipOne wins the X Prize

Coaster Freak · #1 10-04-2004, 12:30 PM

The team headed up by Burt Rutan and Paul Allen has won the Ansari X-Prize. In the aerospace world this is huge and should spur on a private space industry!

Read more here: [url]http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/10/04/spaceshipone.attempt.cnn/index.html[/url]

Carowinds 73-03 · #2 10-04-2004, 12:52 PM

Very intrested to read about this. Hopefully this might bring us alot closer to sending public to space for Vacation. I for one would like to be first on the list.

Skye · #3 10-04-2004, 01:04 PM

[QUOTE=Carowinds 73-03]Very intrested to read about this. Hopefully this might bring us alot closer to sending public to space for Vacation. I for one would like to be first on the list.[/QUOTE]

Richard branson already signed a deal for virgin to fly tourists to space in the next few years.

[url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3693020.stm[/url]

Virgin (atlantic) is a pretty small airline (just atlantic and a few long distance asia routes) but virgin sells loads of other stuff here - music shops, mobiles, insurance.........so its a huge corporate company.

I guess they are giving the money needed for it to happen. Alreay dubbed Virgin galactic..........

edit: its in that article anyway

[QUOTE]
Space ShipOne and White Knight, featured a new paint job promoting Virgin Group, Richard Branson's firm, which recently announced a deal to license the SpaceShipOne technology for a fleet of commercial spacecraft[/QUOTE]

DEJA-VU RULES · #4 10-04-2004, 03:13 PM

I think it would be a lot of fun to go to space but I know that I will never have the money to pay for it.

pipesdrums · #5 10-04-2004, 04:05 PM

Weren't they going to try and launch it again this morning?

**Jimmy B** · #6 10-04-2004, 04:13 PM

I personally don't agree with sending the public into space for a couple of reasons (financial reasons aside):

1) Obviously space travel is a dramatically different and incredibly risky environment for anyone (even for trained astronauts). I don't like the idea of just send anyone who isn't completely aware of all the factors involved of space.

2) I just feel that space travel is only for aeronautical engineers who are especially fully trained and prepared for the travel/exploration; it's not a place for the public.

CoasterJunkie · #7 10-04-2004, 04:18 PM

^ Let's look back about 100 years at the dawn of air travel. People said the EXACT same thing, but yet millions of people travel by air every year now. Yes, it took 100 years, but all progress has to start somewhere.

Skye · #8 10-04-2004, 05:30 PM

yes 60 years ago people thought gremlins lived at 35,000ft.

**Jimmy B** · #9 10-04-2004, 07:06 PM

[QUOTE=CoasterJunkie]Let's look back about 100 years at the dawn of air travel. People said the EXACT same thing, but yet millions of people travel by air every year now. Yes, it took 100 years, but all progress has to start somewhere.[/QUOTE]

Point taken, but the fact is that space flight is a completely different environment than flying say only thousands of feet off the ground. Space is lacking an atmosphere, the pull of gravity that everyone is fully used to, and the extreme temperature contrasts. It's not something anyone can survive, especially without complete preparation (physical and mental).

CoasterJunkie · #10 10-04-2004, 07:14 PM

Right now it is not and neither was flight when it first got off the ground. Now you have 11 year old kids flying across the Atlantic witha 14 year old co-pliot. Right now only specially trained people will be able to survive a space flight, but the fact that a PRIVATE spacecraft made it into orbit twice now shows that we are moving closer to a time when anybody can.

As for the no atmosphere and temperature change facts, that is more of a equipment challenge than a human challenge to space flight, both of which have been overcome. The zero-g aspect is still the one that people will have to get used to.

Skye · #11 10-05-2004, 07:36 AM

In the news today they said a flight is going to be offered by a soft drinks company as a prize.

SFGAm Guru · #12 10-05-2004, 07:40 AM

Actually this space craft only takes you to the rim of space for a few minutes. Its not like week long space vacations yet. But those few minutes are pure airtime.

Coaster Freak · #13 10-05-2004, 09:37 AM

[QUOTE=pipesdrums]Weren't they going to try and launch it again this morning?[/QUOTE]

They did launch yesterday morning and thats why they won the prize.

Skye · #14 10-05-2004, 11:38 AM

someone is sure to pay it. At £115,000 a flight its not exactly cheap. But that'll halve in 2-3 years if enough people fly. In 15-20 years we'll see this type of flight for about £3000 each maybe, which isn't exactly cheap but even more people will go. And that'll reduce the cost even more.

pipesdrums · #15 10-05-2004, 12:30 PM

[QUOTE=Coaster Freak]They did launch yesterday morning and thats why they won the prize.[/QUOTE]
Yeah I know that. But they were planning a second launch yestarday on the 4th, which also happens to be Sputniks anniversery
ahhh here we go, a news article:
[quote=http://www.whowon.com/sResults.asp?SanctionID=198&StoryID=136487]
[left]MOJAVE, Calif. -- Eight Champ Car World Series drivers have amassed $10 million in earnings over their long racing careers but the U.S.-based American Mojave Aerospace Ventures, LLC team led by Burt Rutan and Paul Allen picked up $10 million in a little under two hours Monday morning.

The team successfully sent its SpaceShipOne craft 368,000 feet into space Monday morning with pilot Brian Binnie at the controls, reaching the boundaries of space for the second time in a week to win the $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE Presented by Champ Car competition. As part of the sponsorship, the Champ Car logo flew not only on SpaceShipOne, but on each of the spacecraft of all teams participating in the competition. In addition, a Champ Car flag made the journey into space as part of the 400 pounds of ballast required by competition rules. Rules state the flight must carry three people, or the weight of two additional passengers along with the pilot. The bright orange Champ Car flag was given to the X PRIZE management last week for today’s history-making flight.

“When we first partnered with the X PRIZE organization, we knew that one of the talented teams would make history,” said Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven. “I firmly believe that in the years to come, we will all look back at the events of today as a watershed mark in the history of space travel. It takes the same tenacity, commitment, competitive spirit and passion to make history in space or at the track, and the Champ Car World Series is extremely proud to be a part of it.”

The flight exceeded the competition’s requirements by 40,000 feet and broke a 41-year-old record for altitude by an airplane, set by an experimental X-15 military aircraft. The $10 million prize will be awarded in St. Louis on November 6. The historic flight was deliberately scheduled for Monday by the U.S. team, as it marked the 47th anniversary of the launch of the Russian Sputnik 1, the first satellite to be put into space.[/quote][/left]
[left] [/left]
[left][quote]someone is sure to pay it. At £115,000 a flight its not exactly cheap. But that'll halve in 2-3 years if enough people fly. In 15-20 years we'll see this type of flight for about £3000 each maybe, which isn't exactly cheap but even more people will go. And that'll reduce the cost even more.[/quote][/left]
[left] [/left]
[left]There already is a company that is taking deposits on $98000 trips to space. They have a few hundred people on the waiting list already.[/left]