Holiday in Outer Space

Since 1996 a cash prize of $10,000,000 has been on offer from the St.

Louis based X PRIZE Foundation for the first non-governmental organisation to fly three people to a height of 100km (the height recognised by the US as being worthy of astronaut status) and then bring them safely back down.

The mission must be repeated within 2 weeks and the spaceship must be privately financed, built and launched.

Designed to give impetus to the fledgling industry in the same way that cash prises were on offer early last century for feats of aviation - for example Charles Lindbergh won a prize of $25,000 when he became the first person to fly non-stop between New York and Paris in 1927.

The 'X Prize' has attracted 20 entries from 5 countries and Australia could host the launch of leading contender Starchaser from Woomera as early as August 2003.

British based Starchaser are currently developing the Thunderbird, a sub-orbital passenger vehicle that will give its three passengers a 23-minute ride into space, allow them to see the curvature of the earth and the blackness of space as well as experiencing four minutes of weightlessness.

There are still two-seats up for grabs at US$650,000.

Another X Prize contender is the Russian based Cosmopolis XXI Aerospace System (C-21), a reusable spacecraft designed specifically for sub-orbital space tourist flights beginning in 2005.

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