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ANSARI X PRIZE Space Race News!

 
SpaceDev Shares Soar Along With SpaceShipOne
Shares in SpaceDev soared to an all-time high today in anticipation of the first privately financed manned space flight on Monday.

The aerospace firm designed and built the hybrid rocket motor that, if the mission is successful, will propel flight pioneer Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne into suborbital space and history.

The dart-like aircraft, built and operated by Rutan's Scaled Composites Inc., is expected to fly to the edge of space, about 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, above the Earth's surface. The United States awards astronaut status to anyone who flies above 50 miles in altitude.

The SpaceDev rocket motor, which literally burns rubber for fuel, has been used in three earlier test flights of SpaceShipOne in preparation for the June 21 event at the Mojave Airport. On May 13, the rocket plane climbed to 211,400 feet, more than 40 miles above the Earth. Read More

posted by Sigurd @ 6/19/2004 12:18:00 AM