X Prize Competition Gets New Sponsor, Amended Name 203
An anonymous reader writes "The X Prize Foundation today announced that entrepreneurs Anousheh Ansari and Amir Ansari have made a multi-million dollar contribution to the X Prize Foundation. As a result, the X Prize Competition is being renamed to the Ansari X Prize Competition." However, the X Prize rules stay the same: "The ANSARI X PRIZE will award $10 million to the first private organization to build and fly a ship that can carry three passengers 100 km (62 miles) into space, return safely to Earth and repeat the launch with the same ship within two weeks. Both flights must be completed by January 1st, 2005."
Increase the prize money and extend the date (Score:5, Interesting)
The ANSARI X PRIZE will award $10 million to the first private organization to build and fly a ship that can carry three passengers 100 km (62 miles) into space, return safely to Earth and repeat the launch with the same ship within two weeks. Both flights must be completed by January 1st, 2005
I hope they extend the date and I also hope the prize money goes up. I think the major entrants have all spent more than $10,000.000 as it is. Still, I don't think they are doing it primarily for the money anyway.
Happy Trails!
Erick
Expiration date (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:What kind of passengers? (Score:3, Interesting)
However, in order to qualify for the X-Prize money, the space ship must be built with enough space for three people, and must also carry enough ballast weight to make up for the fact that they have less than three people on board.
You can read the complete rules [xprize.com] for the details.
Re:As much as I hate corporate sponsorship (Score:3, Interesting)
propulsion methods (Score:2, Interesting)
What I want to know... (Score:5, Interesting)
Anousheh Ansari - Iranian Woman! (Score:5, Interesting)
Anousheh Ansari
Founder and CEO
telecom technologies, inc. (tti)
Anousheh Ansari is president, founder, and CEO of telecom technologies, inc. (tti), a supplier of softswitch based solutions for network and service providers offering end-to-end solutions for next generation, carrier-grade multi-service networks. Prior to founding tti, Ansari provided consulting services to the major telecommunications service providers and vendors in the areas of Frame Relay and ATM switch testing and evaluation.
Early in her career, Ansari held positions with MCI Telecommunications Corporation and Communication Satellite Corporation (COMSAT) in various engineering capacities. She worked on architectural design for SS7 and ISDN networks.
Ansari was recognized by Working Woman magazine as the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence award, and was chosen as the winner of the 1999 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Southwest Region, for the Technology and Communications category. She has authored numerous technical papers and has two patents for her work on Automated Operator Services and Wireless Service Node. She was a U.S. delegate at ITU SG VII, SG XI and SG XVII, and a representative at American National Standard Institute T1S1 and T1X1 Technical Subcommittees.
Ansari holds a Master of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from George Mason University. She is also a member of Eta Kappa Nu, IEEE and NSPE.
Success
2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence Award winner: Anousheh Ansari, CEO and chair of Telecom Technologies on the cover of Working Magazine (May 2000). "Anousheh Ansari once dreamed of being an astronaut while growing up in her native Tehran, Iran. Today the 33-year-old Ansari is turning upstart Telecom Technologies Inc into a force in the telecommunications industry."
Going to space to escape the RIAA ... (Score:5, Interesting)
Hey! In space, copyright laws don't apply (yet). You can set up a rogue state for file traders.
History is bound to repeat itself. Apparently, many of the Europeans who came to the US way back when did so to escape opressive taxes. Of course, others did it for wealth or land. Who knows, if cheap affordable spaceflight becomes a reality, the chance to create a new state from scratch will be upon us.
However, the *IAA are probably ahead of you, or will do their best to be. I had Entertainment Law this semester (had the final today) - we learned that one of the record company executives saw a shot of astronauts in space with music playing. Apparently it was MCI. Well, believe it or not, while artist contracts previously required assignment of all rights for the whole Earth, now they say for the Universe. (Can't have artists suing and reclaiming that lucrative interplanetary market!)
Re:Where'd the rest of the money go? (Score:5, Interesting)
Um, not a regular /. denizen... (Score:4, Interesting)
As far as the organisers are concerned, I can't recall them ever posting here, but the plan after the X Prize is won by somebody (probably Rutan, at this stage) is the X Prize Cup [xprize.org], an annual festival/competition where teams will compete to launch their craft as high and as fast as they can.
If they are successful with that competition, I imagine that sooner or later they will propose a private orbital shot.
Can this even be done?? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Following the money (Score:4, Interesting)
The Ansaris are U.S. residents (citizens too, I would guess - the article doesn't say, but as they both are well-established American businesspeople, I find it likely). Saying that their Muslim-nation background makes them automatically suspect is a witch-hunt.
The basic science of missiles is understood - the science of the X-Prize is on developing a re-usable vehicle that can make multiple trips within a couple of weeks. I'm not an expert, but I'd be surprised if X-Prize technology ends up getting used in ICBM's.
Sponsoring the X-Prize doesn't mean the Ansaris have exclusive access to its aerodynamic secrets.
The most popular movie in Iran right now is a satire of religious extremists. Of course they do hold most of the political power, but this isn't a heirarchal society where every person of Persian background (including US citizens) is trying to build a bomb for the religious right.
"Absolutely the only thing stopping them is fear of retribution ala Afghanistan or Iraq"??? I'd love to hear you back that up. It seems to me, that a determined state could make an anonymous terrorist attack of some kind. Anyway, the war on Iraq isn't retribution for anything; even Bush doesn't claim that, I don't know why you would. The war on Afghanistan may be retribution at heart, but the Taliban (or the people of Afghanistan) didn't attack the US.
Joint Strike Fighter (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:What I want to know... (Score:3, Interesting)
It gets worse when you note the extra rule that only 10% of the non fuel mass of the craft can be replaced between flights. That pretty much counts out all the Apollo program stuff, even if they had managed a launch in 2 weeks. Also, while I'm not clear on the exact numbers, I suspect those rockets used to launch the space shuttle account for more than 10% of the non fuel mass.
Of course the Shuttle gets to LEO, which is a much larger step than 100km up, but if you cna get 100km up easily and efficiently, it may well be possible to extend the capabilities and slowly stretch toward LEO.
Jedidiah.