Ansari X Prize
The
Ansari X Prize was a space competition with a single prize of $US10
million to the first non-government organization to launch a reusable
manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks.
The
prize was awarded by the X PRIZE Foundation (sponsored by the Ansari
family) and was aimed as an incentive to spur development of low-cost
spaceflight.
The
X PRIZE Foundation sought to bring about a radical breakthrough in
the advancement of human spaceflight, its aim being to open up the
space frontier and make space travel safe, affordable and accessible
to everyone.
The
Ansari X Prize was modeled after the Orteig Prize, which was won by
Charles Lindbergh in 1927 for being the first to fly non-stop from
New York to Paris.
The
X Prize prize was won on October 4, 2004 by Mojave Aerospace Ventures
for the flight of SpaceShipOne, a
project funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
To
win the prize, aerospace designer Burt Rutan had to build and launch
a spacecraft capable of carrying three people to 100 kilometers above
the earth's surface, twice within two weeks.
A
estimated $100 million was spent by competitors in their attempts
to win the prize.