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29/09/2004: "When I was in space..."
SpaceShipOne reaches space today, with Terence the teddy bear as a guest. Mike Melvill, the pilot, told reporters he had "a hell of a view from 62 miles." "The colors were pretty staggering from up there," he said. "It's an awesome thing to see. You can see the curvature of the Earth."
Peter Diamandis, the X Prize Foundation's co-founder, said he started up the X Prize because he saw it as the best way to further his own dream of getting into outer space someday, but even he acknowledges that a couple of prize-winning launches won't be enough to turn that dream into reality. So he's already been working on the next steps — including a surprise or two that may be announced in the days ahead:
The X Prize Cup
Diamandis already has announced plans for an annual X Prize Cup competition at a yet-to-be-built New Mexico spaceport, beginning in 2006. The event, patterned after Formula 1 and NASCAR auto races as well as the Reno Air Races, would pit suborbital space vehicles against each other in a variety of contests (makes me think of Star Wars).
Orbital challenge
Aviation Week & Space Technology reports this week that millionaire Robert Bigelow is planning to announce a $50 million prize aimed at promoting the development of private-sector orbital space vehicles — with the suborbital X Prize serving as a model. "It would be a shame not to have an orbital program," Diamandis said.
"When I ask schoolkids, 'Do you want to travel to space,' everyone raises their hand. Then I ask the next question: 'Do you think you're going to actually have a chance to go?' Very few raise their hands," he said. "I want to go to schools and have kids raise their hands, and say, 'Yeah, I'm going to have a chance to go' — which is how I felt when I went to elementary school, during the period of the Apollo program."
