The Ansari X Prize - WON by ScaledComposites
Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 11:15 am
An expansion of the discussion in this topic, I'll be keeping KW up to date with the progress of the race to private spaceflight in this thread.
Many companies recently have been working towards an attempt at the $10 Million Ansari X prize, offered to the first private company to carry out a successful spaceflight. The rules are simple: The craft must carry 3 people to a height of 100km, twice within a two week period.
Ansari X Prize Homepage
The teams competing are:
* American Astronautics
* Acceleration Engineering
* American Advent
* ARCA
* Armadillo Aerospace
* Bristol Spaceplanes
* Canadian Arrow
* Da Vinci
* Fundamental Technology Systems
* High Altitude Research Corp.
* Interorbital Systems
* ILAT
* Micro Space
* Pablo de León & Associates
* Pioneer Rocketplane
* Scaled Composites
* Space Transport Corporation
* Starchaser Industries LTD
* TGV Rockets, Inc.
* Vanguard Spacecraft
In June of this year, prize contenders Scaled Composites successfully performed the first manned private spaceflight, carrying one man to a height of 100km and returning safely. Their craft, SpaceShipOne, is currently the favourite to win with their prize attempt flights scheduled for 29th September and 4th October - leaving only five days between the flights. But other contenders are also close.
Canadian team The GoldenPalace.com Space Project, formerly the da Vinci Project Team, have announce their intent to launch their rocket Wild Fire on the 2nd October. The rocket will be launched from a high-altitude baloon, taking off from Sasketchewan, Canada.
Successful tests have been carried out by teams such as Canadian Arrow, and Pablo DeLeon's argentinian team, but others have suffered setbacks. On the 7th August Armadillo Aerospace launched a rocket designed by Doom creator John Carmack, which crashed 20 seconds after launch. The next day, the Space Transport Corporation of Forks, Washington, lost a rocket when it exploded 300m above the ground. Neither rocket was manned.
Personally, I am in support of ScaledComposites to win - I just do not believe rockets are the answer for private spaceflight, and after seeing SpaceShipOne I think this is a much better option (although it seems more of an earth-to-orbit craft than a spacecraft). Rockets, which many of the other companies are using, just seem too dangerous.
Many companies recently have been working towards an attempt at the $10 Million Ansari X prize, offered to the first private company to carry out a successful spaceflight. The rules are simple: The craft must carry 3 people to a height of 100km, twice within a two week period.
Ansari X Prize Homepage
The teams competing are:
* American Astronautics
* Acceleration Engineering
* American Advent
* ARCA
* Armadillo Aerospace
* Bristol Spaceplanes
* Canadian Arrow
* Da Vinci
* Fundamental Technology Systems
* High Altitude Research Corp.
* Interorbital Systems
* ILAT
* Micro Space
* Pablo de León & Associates
* Pioneer Rocketplane
* Scaled Composites
* Space Transport Corporation
* Starchaser Industries LTD
* TGV Rockets, Inc.
* Vanguard Spacecraft
In June of this year, prize contenders Scaled Composites successfully performed the first manned private spaceflight, carrying one man to a height of 100km and returning safely. Their craft, SpaceShipOne, is currently the favourite to win with their prize attempt flights scheduled for 29th September and 4th October - leaving only five days between the flights. But other contenders are also close.
Canadian team The GoldenPalace.com Space Project, formerly the da Vinci Project Team, have announce their intent to launch their rocket Wild Fire on the 2nd October. The rocket will be launched from a high-altitude baloon, taking off from Sasketchewan, Canada.
Successful tests have been carried out by teams such as Canadian Arrow, and Pablo DeLeon's argentinian team, but others have suffered setbacks. On the 7th August Armadillo Aerospace launched a rocket designed by Doom creator John Carmack, which crashed 20 seconds after launch. The next day, the Space Transport Corporation of Forks, Washington, lost a rocket when it exploded 300m above the ground. Neither rocket was manned.
Personally, I am in support of ScaledComposites to win - I just do not believe rockets are the answer for private spaceflight, and after seeing SpaceShipOne I think this is a much better option (although it seems more of an earth-to-orbit craft than a spacecraft). Rockets, which many of the other companies are using, just seem too dangerous.
