X Prize Foundation is a non-profit organisation whose aim is to create a future in which the general public will personally participate in space travel and its benefits. They have achieved this through the X-Prize Competition and the follow on is called the X-Prize Cup.
What is the X-Prize Competition?
X Prize Competition was an international competition among private spaceships designed to fly the general public into space. The aim was to stimulate the development of the first private reusable spacecraft and to create a new generation of space vehicles that could be used for personal spaceflight (space tourism).
The prize for winning the competition was 10 million USA dollars. It was to be awarded to to the first private organization to build and fly a space ship that could carry three passengers 100 km (62 miles) into space, return safely to Earth and repeat the launch with the same ship within two weeks. SpaceShipOne won the competition on October 4, 2004.
X Prize Competitors:
1. Acceleration Engineering
2. Advent Launch Services
3. Aeronautics and Cosmonautics Romanian Assoc. (ARCA) - ARCA joined the X Prize
Competition on September 16, 2002 at World Space Congress held in Houston. They
are developing the ORIZONT vehicle which consists of a rocket and a
capsule.
4.Armadillo Aerospace: Vertical Take-Off and Landing vehicle
5. American Astronautics Corporation - the Sprit of Liberty ballistic vehicle
6. Bristol Spaceplanes, Ltd
7. Canadian Arrow
8. The da Vinci Project: Wild Fire, a balloon launched vehicle
9. Pablo de Leon & Associates
10. Discraft Corporation: Flying Saucer design
11. Cosmopolis 21 - Russia
12. Fundamental Technology Systems
13. HARC (High Altitude Research Corporation)
14. IL Aerospace Technologies (Israel): Negev 5 balloon launched vehicle
15. Interorbital Systems
16. Kelly Space and Technology
17. Lone Star Space Access Corporation: Cosmic Mariner spaceplane
18. Micro-Space, Inc.
19. PanAero, Inc.
20. Pioneer Rocketplane, Inc.
21. Scaled Composites' Tier One project (USA): SpaceShipOne -
won the prize
22. Space Transport Corporation
23. Starchaser Industries - from the UK
24. Suborbital Corporation
25.TGV Rockets
26.Vanguard Spacecraft
History
X Prize competition was announced in 1996. Peter Diamandis is the founder and Chairman of the X Prize Foundation. The deadline to complete the X Prize contest was January 1, 2005.
Entrepreneurs Anousheh Ansari and Amir Ansari, on the 4th May 2004 announced a multimillion dollar contribution to the X PRIZE Foundation. The X-Prize competition was re-named Ansari X-Prize Competition.
Scaled Composites Team won the X Prize Competition on October 4 2004 with the SpaceShipOne - White Knight suborbital vehicle. The X-Prize of 10 million dollars was officially awarded on November 6, 2004.
Awarding the $10,000,000 Ansari X-Prize was not the end of the X-Prize. A new event has commenced called the X Prize Cup.
Did you know?
The X Prize inspired NASA's Centennial Challenges.
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Updated: Saturday 28th, September, 2010