Space Travel - ANSARI X PRIZE

The ANSARI X PRIZE is a $10,000,000 prize to jumpstart the space tourism industry through competition between the most talented entrepreneurs and rocket experts in the world. The $10 Million cash prize will be awarded to the first team that:

• Privately finances, builds & launches a spaceship, able to carry three people to 100 kilometers (62.5 miles)
• Returns safely to Earth
• Repeats the launch with the same ship within 2 weeks

The ANSARI X PRIZE competition follows in the footsteps of more than 100 aviation incentive prizes offered between 1905 and 1935 which created today's multibillion dollar air transport industry. (read the detailed ANSARI X PRIZE Guidelines)

For more than 30 years, the general public has waited for an opportunity to enjoy the space frontier on a first-hand basis. The X PRIZE Foundation is working to make space travel possible for all. The spaceships that compete for the ANSARI X PRIZE are designed to carry passengers.

Since its inception in May 1996, the X PRIZE Foundation has registered more than 20 teams from seven countries to compete for the prize. The ANSARI X PRIZE is fully funded through January 1, 2005, through private donations and backed by an insurance policy to guarantee that the $10 million is in place on the day that the prize is won. Additional funds are still being raised by the X PRIZE Foundation to implement the competition (judging, media, event management, etc.) and continue the Foundation's education mission.

The ANSARI X PRIZE was inspired by the early aviation prizes of the 20th Century, primarily the spectacular trans-Atlantic flight of Charles Lindbergh in The Spirit of St. Louis which captured the US $25,000 (US$) Orteig prize in 1927. Through a smaller, faster, better approach to aviation, Lindbergh and his financial supporters, The Spirit of St. Louis Organization, demonstrated that a small professional team could outperform a large, government-style effort.

The Societal Benefits of the ANSARI X PRIZE include:

• Creation of a new generation of heroes
• Inspiring and educating students
• Focusing public attention and investment capital on this new business frontier
• Challenging explorers and rocket scientists around the world; and,
• Vehicles built for the ANSARI X PRIZE will eventually serve four different industries:
  • Space Tourism
  • Low-cost satellite launching
  • Same-day package delivery
  • Rapid point-to-point passenger travel

X PRIZE FOUNDER SPEAKS AT WORLD SPACE CONGRESS 05.02.2004
Peter Diamandis, Chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation, presented the present and future of the X PRIZE competition and the follow-on the X PRIZE CUP to a large audience at the 41st Space Congress held in Cape Canaveral, FL, on April 27-29th. Diamandis stated that, "We do expect the ANSARI X PRIZE to be captured within three to five months," and that "We will be making a decision [whether to host the X PRIZE CUP in Florida or New Mexico] and announcing it in the next month or so."


ANSARI X PRIZE TEAMS HOLD 2-DAY SUMMIT IN LOS ANGELES 04.08.04
ANSARI X PRIZE leaders from 12 teams gathered at a 2-day meeting in Los Angeles to trade experiences, discuss the future of sub-orbital tourism, and discuss the X PRIZE CUP.

Pictured here (Left to Right): Dumitru Popescu, ARCA, Romania; Pablo DeLeon, DeLeon, Argentina; Oded Loebl, ILAT, Isreal; Eric Meier, Space Transport, USA; Steve Bennett, Starchaser, UK; Burt Rutan, Scaled Composites, USA; Randa Milliron, Interorbital Systems, USA, Chuck Lauer, Rocketplane LTD, USA; Brian Feeney, daVinci Project, Canada; Neil Milburn, Armadillo, USA, Tim Pickens, HARC, USA; Lori Sheerin, Canadian Arrow, Canada

The X PRIZE Foundation
722-A Spirit of St. Louis Blvd
St. Louis, Mo. 63005
Tel: 636-519-9449
Fax: 314-533-6502