WE MOVED TO http://www.XPrizeNews.org
ANSARI X PRIZE Space Race News!

 
SpaceShipOne Updates
Articles:
- csmonitor.com: Tax Breaks for Private Spaceships
On June 21, outer space may no longer be a frontier only for wealthy governments
For the first time, a private piloted craft will try to reach the black edge of space, rocketing upward 62 miles in a historymaking suborbital flight.
The timing is perfect. This week, a White House commission recommended NASA's missions be supplemented by private entities, which could be supported by such incentives as tax breaks.
The huge costs and risks of space travel aren't for the faint of wallet. In fact, next week's flight, by a craft called SpaceShipOne, is backed by Paul Allen, the billionaire cofounder of Microsoft. The flight is one of many planned by groups vying for a $10 million private prize set up in 1996 to reward the first private space flight.
- BBC.co.uk: Burt Rutan: Aviation pioneer
For more than 20 years, American businessman Burt Rutan has been behind some of the oddest and most innovative planes around.
In the US, he is considered by some experts to be a national treasure, one of the few creative pioneers who has made a real difference to aerospace advancement.
When the US government wanted to test a fairly high-risk engine concept recently, Rutan wanted to be the test pilot.
He was only prevented from doing so because the government did not want to run the risk of losing him. That is how much of a precious commodity he is considered to be.
It is his company - Scaled Composites - that is responsible for SpaceShipOne, the Ansari X-prize contender.
This vehicle has been closer to space than any non-governmental manned craft, and is hot favourite to win the prize this year.
- billingsgazette.com: U.S. tycoon will test rocket for future of space tourism
SEATTLE, Wash. - Billion-aire Paul Allen says he "sure wouldn't mind" taking a ride someday in the spaceship he paid to have built in the California desert.
"But you have to understand, you have test pilots flying this thing right now," the co-founder of Microsoft said. "You want to prove out these things and use it many times before you'd want to have passengers on board."
Space tourism "is around the corner, but it's not here yet," Allen, 51, said in a rare interview.
On Monday, Allen's rocket ship, called SpaceShipOne, is expected to try to reach suborbital space. If successful, it would be the first private, manned spaceship to leave the earth's atmosphere.

(via hobbyspace.com)SS1 flight memorabilia could become a top collectable for space enthusiasts according to Robert Pearlman of collectSpace. He tells Alan Boyle - Space race update - Alan Boyle/MSNBC - June.16.04
"The appeal of philatelic material or other collectibles (mini SS1 models, medallions, patches, etc.), not to mention any piece of the actual craft that is expendable/replaceable, will be of interest to space collectors..."

- Scaled has moved the info on live coverage to the Q&A section. (if you haven't noticed yet, there is a new webdesign on their site)

posted by Sigurd @ 6/17/2004 11:44:00 AM