Space Ship One claims the Prize!

M

MicMurry

Joined
May 12, 2002
Messages
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Space ship one takes home the X-prize!

This is incredible! They went into space twice within 2 weeks. Space tourism here I come. Now I just need the thousands, if not millions to get up there. :footinmou

How about those memories for those of you who saw the moon landing? Did you ever think a private craft would make it space?
 
YES!!!!
If we break the governmental monopoly on space, perhaps we will begin to see actual use of space develop.

"I pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave me birth;
Let me rest my eyes on the fleecy skies
And the cool green hills of Earth."
Robert Heinlein
 
What I found amazing is that they did it for something like $25 million. And, not to be pedantic, they didn't just claim the prize, they SMASHED the prize by launching the second time in 6 days. Wouldn't it be cool if, just for S&G, they tried to get a third launch in the 14 day time frame? :D
 
FoxholeAtheist said:
What I found amazing is that they did it for something like $25 million. And, not to be pedantic, they didn't just claim the prize, they SMASHED the prize by launching the second time in 6 days. Wouldn't it be cool if, just for S&G, they tried to get a third launch in the 14 day time frame? :D
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The figure for Paul Allen's investment in it was some $10 BILLION.
 
10 billion still doesn't seem too bad when you consider their starting point. NASA's projected annual budgets are around 14 billion for the next 5 years.

It'll be interesting to see if the company continues to be viable and, if so, whether its overhead/budget will go down or up.

Bravo for free enterprise.
 
A couple more facts to bracket this achievement:

On this date in 1957 the CCCP launched Sputnik, setting off a frenzied "space race" with political goals rather than solid scientific development.

On the other hand:

Virgin Galactic: The logical next step

The news that Sir Richard Branson has signed a deal to take paying passengers into space suggests the Ansari X-Prize has achieved its goal of bringing space tourism closer to the masses.

One of the aims behind the $10m (£5.7m) challenge was to galvanise enthusiasm for private manned spaceflight, thereby bringing "out of this world" tourism within reach of ordinary people.

In the past, space travel has been open only to the privileged few; either government-back astronauts or millionaires with enough spare cash to book a flight on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station.
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Jeffrey Lenorovitz, a spokesperson for the Orbital Recovery Group, which aims to build a so-called "space tug" to rescue malfunctioning satellites commented: "The idea is to crush the mindset that government has to be involved, because industry and entrepreneurs have and will respond." ((snip))

Jeffrey Lenorovitz formerly worked for MirCorp which several years ago worked up a proposal for a private-access space station. However, the idea did not receive the necessary backing from international space agencies and investors.

"I still believe that for an orbital space station with private access, there will be a capability. Just imagine if there was a space station that had a regular means to get up there," Mr Lenorovitz told BBC News Online.

"I know scientists who have spent 10 years developing a payload and have waited 15 years to get it up into space. There's something wrong with that formula if indeed space is going to be used to its best capability."
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Konrad Dannenberg, an original member of the German rocket team that kickstarted America's space programme after WWII told BBC News Online recently: "[Burt Rutan] eventually wants to take well-paying passengers into space and to let them see from up there what it looks like down here.

"But he is not in Earth orbit. To get into Earth orbit is still a pretty large, pretty major step. I have heard Rutan has plans to do that eventually. I am really looking forward to hearing what he wants to do."

I know scientists who have spent 10 years developing a payload and have waited 15 years to get it up into space. There's something wrong with that formula if indeed space is going to be used to its best capability.
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We've had some lively discussions on the value of space exploration and commercialization before. This time, I'll just say congratulations to the folks involved. Their efforts get a big thumbs up from me!!

:)
 
Let that be a lesson to those who look to the government to do everything.!!
 
Well, NASA had a lot of good people working hard to develop the technology so others can take off from there. Most of them are still around to really appreciate the direction their efforts have led us. Others will only live in our memories.

Gordon Cooper, NASA Mercury pioneer, dies

Gordon Cooper, one of the original Mercury astronauts who were pioneers in human space exploration, has died. He was 77. Cooper died Monday at his home in Ventura, NASA officials said in a statement.

"As one of the original seven Mercury astronauts, Gordon Cooper was one of the faces of America's fledgling space program," said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "He truly portrayed the right stuff, and he helped gain the backing and enthusiasm of the American public, so critical for the spirit of exploration. My thoughts and prayers are with Gordon's family during this difficult time."

Cooper piloted the final flight of the Mercury program, the United States' first manned spaceflight program that had the primary goal of putting a man in orbit around Earth.

Born March 6, 1927, in Shawnee, Okla., Cooper was selected as a Mercury astronaut in April 1959. The astronauts became heroes in the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Cooper gained notoriety as the first American astronaut not only to sleep in orbit but, once, on the launch pad during countdown. He retired from NASA in 1970.
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Great news! If nothing else, this should serve as a wake up call for NASA. They are either going to have to recapture the public's imagination or risk getting jettison on the trash heap of history.

n2s
 
Well, I agree NASA has some issues (almost all political/organizational), but there's a tremendous difference between nudging into sub-orbital space, and putting reliable satellites/shuttles etc. in full orbit. NASA deserves all the credit they get, and so do the folks that just won the X prize.
 
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