Ansari X prize

[NoltaiR]

Well something I have been waiting to see happen for a long time finally happened today. A participating team going for the X Prize launched and retrieved their spaceship.

This topic may be already started but I have searched and to my surprise didn't find anything.

Anyways a couple years ago when I posted regularly, a link to rocketry.org came up and someone was talking about the different prizes that amateurs could win for building space vehicles/crafts.

BTW, if you haven't taken a look at lately at the rocketry news on the mainpage you should because they update it daily.

Also visit their listing for the different contests at:

http://www.rocketry.org/contests


But the point is, the one contest I thought no won would win or even try to win anytime soon was the X Prize contest for a purse of 10 million dollars.\

A summary of the rules and prize are as follows:
On May 18, 1996 the X Prize competition was announced in St. Louis. A prize of $10 million is being offered to the first amateur (non-professional) group to successfully launch and recover a reusable craft to an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 miles) twice in a 14 day period. The vehicle must carry one pilot, but must be built to carry 3 adults weighing 198 pounds each.

Then while watching the FOX news today I saw a glimpse of the flight while at work and remembered this contest. I went home and went to the X Prize web site at www.xprize.org and it is amazing what I didn't know.

There are several teams competing.... 26 to be exact from many different countries. Even Canada... I will admit I thought they were still trying to figure out how to fly much less space travel :) Anyways this contest has apparently set out to do what it was meant for. To jumpstart space travel technology for "regular" people.

With the first flight planned (this ship is called Spaceshipone) Virgin Airlines created a sister company known as Virgin Galactic. The first civilian flights to space are planned for 2008. Granted the price for these first flights is estimated at $200,000. The price will steadily get cheaper over time... but for an opportunity like that I am sure many will be jumping at the chance as soon as it comes.

[megalomania]

Frankly I didn't expect it to be done for many years yet, but I am plesantly suprised. Their craft cost a mere $25 million, which seems like peanuts considering what it can do. NASA had better wake up and tighten their belts. You would think a multi billion dollar funded agency with the greatest collection of scientific minds could do 100 times better.

[nbk2000]

It's because they're a 100x larger that they can't.

Too much invested into maintaining the beauracracy, not enough invested into the do'ing.

This rot is typical of almost all businesses. 3M has avoided it by splitting off parts as soon as they get to a point of maximum viability, usually around 150 people, which keeps them from developing a beauracratic mind-set.

[NoltaiR]

If anyone is interested, the Discovery channel is supposed to have a special show covering these events and will air in two parts. Part 1 on Oct. 3 and Part 2 on Oct. 7 at 9pm. (Not sure which time zone though)

[K9]

Well Spaceshipone has won the X prize. I say congratulations, although I would have enjoyed the Canadian team winning.

[NoltaiR]

I have always been interested in the way the x prize foundation has helped progress science and technology in our world today. It simply gives a challege for a group of scientists to accomplish with the reward of glory, fame, and a few bucks in your pocket. Now while you may think I am sarcastic by saying a few bucks, keep in mind that the last prize to be won was by Burt Rutan and his guys was $10 million.. and yet he spent $25 million in costs to fund the project in the first place. So in my opinion, this is mostly for the fame.

Anyways the X Prize has now shifted it's attention from aerospace to biology. Now offering another 10 million dollar check as prize money.

The following has been copied from the X Prize home page.

==========================================

X PRIZE Foundation Announces Largest Medical Prize in History
$10 Million Archon X PRIZE for Genomics Challenges Private Companies to Map 100 Human Genomes in 10 Days

Washington D.C. (October 4, 2006) — The X PRIZE Foundation announced today the $10 million Archon X PRIZE for Genomics — A multi-million dollar incentive to create technology that can successfully map 100 human genomes in 10 days. The prize is designed to usher in a new era of personalized preventative medicine and stimulate new avenues of research and development of medical sciences.

On hand to help the X PRIZE Foundation make this historic announcement were some of the industries top minds representing the full landscape of this exciting new foray into biotechnology. Speakers at the press conference included Dr. J. Craig Venter, Chairman and CEO of the J Craig Venter Institute, Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, Anousheh Ansari, First Female Private Space Explorer and Co-Founder & Chairman Prodea Systems, Inc., Sharon Terry, President and CEO of the Genetic Alliance, Billy Tauzin, President and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturing Association and Dr. Stewart Blusson, President of Archon Minerals. Archon Minerals is the title sponsor of the Archon X PRIZE for Genomics after a generous multi-million dollar donation by Dr. Blusson.

Rapid genome sequencing is widely regarded as the next great frontier for science and will eventually allow doctors to determine an individuals’ susceptibility to disease and even the genetic links to cancer. Mapping your genetic code is like taking an X-Ray allowing doctors to see inside your genetic past and eventually help determine your genetic future.

Only after we have access to affordable and fast genome sequencing will we be able to take advantage of the countless benefits. This technology helps us refine and perfect our knowledge and practice of preventive medical treatments and procedures. Preventing disease is the next best thing to curing disease.

This is the second major prize from the X PRIZE Foundation. In 1996, the Foundation offered the Ansari X PRIZE for Private Spaceflight. Until now, The X PRIZE Foundation has been considered part of the nascent private spaceflight industry. Exactly two years ago today the $10 Ansari X PRIZE for Private Spaceflight made world headlines when it was won by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, a team led by famed aircraft designer Burt Rutan and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Their winning entry, SpaceShipOne, is now the prototype for a new class of sub-orbital spaceflight.

"The X PRIZE Foundation has created a unique philanthropic prize model designed to stimulate research and accelerate development of radical breakthroughs that will benefit humanity," explains Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Founder and Chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation. "The Archon X PRIZE for Genomics will revolutionize personalized medicine and custom medical treatment, forever changing the face of medical research and making genome sequencing affordable and available in every hospital and medical care facility in the world."

Three teams have already signed up for the competition. VisiGen Biotechnologies, Inc. is based out of Houston, TX and is led by Susan Hardin Ph.D., 454 Life Sciences is a Connecticut based company headed up by Christopher McLeod and the third team, which is made up of the Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology, the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, and Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC. They make their home in Gainesville, FL and Steve Benner is the team leader. Many other companies have inquired and more teams are expected to register soon.

X PRIZE Foundation
The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational non-profit prize institute whose mission is to bring about radical breakthroughs in space and technology for the benefit of humanity. On October 4th, 2004, the X PRIZE Foundation captured world headlines when Mojave Aerospace Ventures, led by Burt Rutan and Paul Allen, built and flew the world’s first private craft to space twice in two weeks to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. Because of the dramatic nature of the achievement, the X PRIZE Foundation is now widely recognized as the leading model for fostering innovation through competition. Based on the success of the Ansari X PRIZE, The Foundation will develop new prizes in other major scientific areas.

[NoltaiR]

While I realize I just posted a new thread elsewhere pertaining to the new xprize for genetics I have one more note on this one.

Even though SpaceShipOne won the competition 2 years ago, there are now X Prize Cups being held in New Mexico. In the words of the Foundation "..We didn't just launch a spaceship, we launched a revolution."

So now the X Prize Cup is now in full swing, with the plans already being made for their 2005-2010 schedule already off to an amazing start.

Honestly I think I may attend next year's show. New Mexico isn't that far from this great state of Texas~

The following has been copied from the xprize cup website
==================================
The idea for the X PRIZE Cup began developing before SpaceShipOne ever won the Ansari X PRIZE. The vision - create a one-of-a-kind event where the public could come and watch the rockets that will one day be taking us all into space. Watch them fly. Watch them compete in time and altitude competitions. Watch them vie for new generations of prizes. And see it all from a spectacular space theme park on the ground, with dozens of scale model rockets, simulators, space artifacts, astronauts and space entrepreneurs all around you.

That vision came to life last year at the inaugural event, entitled the "Countdown to X PRIZE Cup." 12,000 people from all over the southwest came to watch Armadillo Aerospace test the prototype for its lunar landing vehicle, to watch the EZ Rocket (the development precursor to Rocket Racing League's X-Racer) fly, to see Starchaser fire its massive engine out on the field, to peruse a one-of-a-kind space museum on the ground, with scale models of many of the Ansari X PRIZE competition vehicles, including a full-scale model of SpaceShipOne, and to watch things up close on jumbo-trons feeding live pictures from White Sands Missile Range's long-range cameras.

In 2006, the story evolves, and more of the original vision begins to manifest with over $2.5 million in prize money for three different prizes - the Lunar Lander Challenge, the Vertical Rocket Challenge, and the Space Elevator Games, with over twenty teams expected to compete in all. In addition, multiple high-powered sounding rockets will be launched throughout the event, weather permitting, traveling thousands of feet into the air above the airport, launching before your very eyes. Also, the Rocket Racing League will unveil and display the development version of its X-Racer, the first NASCAR vehicle of the sky, set to fly at the 2007 Cup.

From 2007 to 2009, the X PRIZE Cup will expand even further, with more rockets, and multiple flights of the Rocket Racing League X-Racers, amateur rocket flights built by people all over the world, Rocket Racing League Finals - a Grand Prix in the sky, and eventually, actual races to space.

[TreverSlyFox]

I actually figured the "X Prize" would be won fairly quickly. The advantage of a quick turn around, re-useable, low cost launch vehicle has big time business posibilities. While big business has not really "jumped" into the fray, a few have seen the potential and tossed a few bucks into it as sponsers.

With launch costs of $10,000+ per pound with NASA's Shuttle only the biggest of the big can utilize it with billions of $$$ in return. While the average big, mid, and small size companies are left out because of the launch costs. With a civilian launch vehicle, with launch costs in the neighborhood of $1,000 per pound everyone else gets to play with the big boys and there is GRAND THEFT money to be made in space based R&D, Manufacturing, Drugs and such.

The first "factories" in space will not be put there by the Government but by business, and a lot of them are watching the "X Prize" winners very closely. Without the beauracracy of big government, business will fund and force advances at a geometric scale because of the profit involved. What it takes the government to do in 10 to 15 years, business will do in 5 to 7 years at the least. I think it is very possible to see orbital flights by civillians in my life time, which at 58 leaves them 20 years of developement. I will probably only see the very begaining of it though. For my children and grandchildren it will probabley be a very common everyday event.

[NoltaiR]

I had a discussion with someone last night on the topic and my colleague was convinced that traveling to space for recreational or vacation purposes would never develope quite as much as this Foundation hopes.

She had a good point, stating that the creation of the Concord airline (the commercial jet that was built to cruise at mach 2) met it's demise because people aren't willing to pay 1-2 thousand dollars just to save an hour or two of time.

This space vehicle is similar. The only way people will want to go is (from what I can tell) just to say that they were in space. There is no business that can be conducted out there so it would be a pleasure experience.

My side of the debate was that as our world progresses in technology, science is dependant on advancing what we already know. In the last 103 years the world has seen the creation of the most primitive flying machine that could only fly very short distances, develope into supersonic stealth fighters, commercial "dreamliners", and unmanned aircraft capable of winning a war without a single casualty.

We never came to a conclusion on this debate but I thought I would bring up a couple good points.