IN THIS ISSUE:

TOP NEWS

• The ANSARI X PRIZE is Won!
• ANSARI X PRIZE Awards Celebration
• ANSARI X PRIZE Cup Announced
• World Technology Network and ANSARI X PRIZE Foundation Announce Technology Prizes Competition
• ANSARI X PRIZE Flights Breaks Records on the Internet!
• The World Watches: X PRIZE Launches Attract Amazing Media Coverage
• X PRIZE Foundation Supporters REALLY Fuel the "New Race to Space"
• The X PRIZE Foundation Gains Two New Members!

TEAM NEWS

• Richard Branson Announces Agreement with Mojave Aerospace Ventures
• ANSARI X PRIZE and Scaled Composites Honored at Space Frontier Conference
• Incredible Adventures and Rocketplane Ltd. Join Forces
• Starchaser Making Advances in Fuel, Escape System, Engine
• Pablo de Leon and Associates Vow to Continue Work
• Interorbital Joins America's Space Prize Competition
• PanAero, Inc. Adapting Condor-X for Low Wing Loading

OTHER NEWS

• Lexington Rocket Mockups Are Huge Success at Launch Events
• X PRIZE VP Takes X PRIZE to Alaska and Rocket Sculptures to Space
• Latest X PRIZE News

31 October 2004

Dear Friends,

After eight years it's amazing to think that the Ansari X PRIZE has actually been achieved, and next Saturday we will turn over the $10 million check and the 5-foot tall trophy to Burt Rutan and the Mojave Aerospace Ventures team.

The festivities will take place in St. Louis on Saturday, 6 November. Populated with the heroes of private spaceflight, you won't want to miss this chance to meet Mike Melvill, Brian Binnie, Burt Rutan, and many more!

The deadline for RSVP is Tuesday (a.m.), 2 November, so call now to secure your seat! RSVP @ 314.289.4420 or 314.286.4633

The fuse has been lit, and the personal spaceflight revolution has started. Unlike the Apollo moon race which ended in political ambivalence, this race will ignite an economic engine that will drive prices down and reliability upward.

I congratulate all of the Teams for their efforts and hope they will continue their work in pursuit of both the billion-dollar commercial markets, as well as the X PRIZE Cup in New Mexico.

I also wish to thank the entire X PRIZE Management team, volunteers, members, New Spirit Members, donors and sponsors. Without your support this would not have been acheived.

I feel proud of our accomplishments, honored to have worked with such and amazing team of people, and totally energized as I realize that my lifelong goal and dream of private spaceflight is becoming a reality.

We have accomplished great things together for the cause of space, but our journey is far from over. I look forward to your friendship and partnership in the future as we continue to work to open up private spaceflight for all!

To the Stars!

Peter H. Diamandis
Chairman & Founder, X PRIZE Foundation

TOP NEWS:

The ANSARI X PRIZE is Won!

SpaceShipOne and the Mojave Aerospace Ventures Team reaches over 360,000 feet to win the $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE over the skies of Mojave Spaceport on October 4th. The threshold of space and minimum altitude for gaining the ANSARI X PRIZE is 328,000 feet. Brian Binnie, who piloted the winning flight was released from it's mothership White Knight at 48,000 feet early Monday morning. Binnie continued into space breaking the August 22, 1963 record by Joseph A. Walker who flew the X-15 to an unofficial world altitude record of 354,200 feet.

"After eight years its amazing to think that the Ansari X PRIZE has actually been achieved," says X PRIZE Chairman and CEO Peter Diamandis, "Next Saturday we will turn over the $10 million check and the 5-foot tall trophy to Burt Rutan and the Mojave Aerospace Ventures team."

"The fuse has been lit, and the personal spaceflight revolution has started," continues Diamandis, "Unlike the Apollo moon race which ended in political ambivalence, this race will ignite an economic engine that will drive prices down and reliability upward."

The $10 million prize check and an amazing trophy will be awarded to the Mojave Aerospace Ventures Team at the ANSARI X PRIZE Awards Celebration in St. Louis on November 6 (see next article for details on Celebration).

Photo Caption: Newly Minted Astronaut Brian Binnie speaks to the audience after his historic flight.
Photo by Sam Coniglio, http://www.samsphotography.net.

ANSARI X PRIZE Awards Celebration

After years of dreams, work and dedication by all involved, the ANSARI X PRIZE has been captured and it's time to celebrate! The X PRIZE Awards Celebration, to be held in St. Louis, Missouri, will be an event unlike any other. Imagine if you had been invited to mingle with Orville and Wilbur Wright the night they celebrated their first flight... or to attend the awarding of the Orteig Prize to Charles Lindbergh. This is your chance to be there! Meet the visionaries "" Paul Allen and Burt Rutan, the pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie and their team that changed our world! We ask that you support the St. Louis Science Center's educational activities inspired by the Ansari X Prize by becoming a "White Knight" donor for the evening at $1,500 for two attendees. Limited tickets for the evening are available at $275 per person.Seating is limited and the deadline is Monday, November 1st so call now! RSVP: 314.286.4633

ANSARI X PRIZE Cup Announced

After the success of the ANSARI X PRIZE, the ANSARI X PRIZE Foundation looks to the future answering the burning question "what's next" with the ANSARI X PRIZE CUP. The X PRIZE CUP will be an annual 5-day event combining the excitement and raw thrills of the X-Games, the open spirit of Burning Man with the technical sophistication of air and auto racing and the unspoiled beauty of a new frontier! Beginning in summer 2006 with an exhibitionary kick-off event, X PRIZE CUP is aiming for a full-fledged space-racing extravaganza by summer 2007 with teams competing from all over the world!

World Technology Network and ANSARI X PRIZE Foundation Announce Technology Prizes Competition

Following the successful winning of the $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE on October 4th, 2004, the ANSARI X PRIZE Foundation and the World Technology Network (WTN) announced a joint venture to launch a series of technology incentive prizes for a myriad of technology fields. The announcement made by Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the ANSARI X PRIZE Foundation and James Clark, Chairman and Founder of the World Technology Network, was made in San Francisco during WTN's 2004 World Technology Summit & Awards.

The intention of the WTN X PRIZES is to inspire innovation and bring about breakthrough results with wide-ranging societal implications, such as life extension, molecular assemblers, water purification, hydrogen generation, and similar ambitious goals. These leaps in research and development would help open new markets. For more information, go to: http://www.wtnxprize.org/.

ANSARI X PRIZE Flights Breaks Records on the Internet!

The successful ANSARI X PRIZE flights on September 29 and October 4, 2004 were witnessed by a record number of people via an exciting live webcast over the Internet. For both events, a combined 40,000 simultaneous viewers watched the event online. In total, there were over one million requests by people to view the launch videos. For those of you who missed it, the webcasts are all archived at the ANSARI X PRIZE website: http://www.xprize.org/webcast.

The World Watches: X PRIZE Launches Attract Amazing Media Coverage

The amazing flights of SpaceShipOne for the ANSARI X PRIZE Competition had coverage in 363 domestic papers and 164 international papers. Over 550 members of the media attended the September 29th flight, and over 750 media people attended the October 4th flight. Some of the coverage came from major newspapers such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Magazines including TIME and Newsweek covered the event as well. On TV, ABC, CBS, and NBC were there as well as CNN and the BBC.

X PRIZE Foundation Supporters REALLY Fuel the "New Race to Space"

As a non-profit organization, the X PRIZE Foundation depends solely on donations to fund our mission to open up space travel for all and to educate the world about private space travel. In the few months leading up to the flights to claim the ANSARI X PRIZE there were 1500 new members joining the Foundation via web donations alone! Thanks to all of you new and existing members for that kind of support; it's what makes us "GO"!!!

Another source of "rocket fuel" for our efforts comes from carefully-chosen sponsorships. Champ Car World Series Racing became our Presenting Sponsor earlier this year, and the connection between high-tech open wheel racing and private space travel has been a natural. A special thank you goes to Champ Car World Series for their participation in the launches in Mojave. Champ Car, Kevin Kalkhoven, and PKV Racing brought us several race cars, hospitality trucks, food and beverage service, and other support that made the Mojave launches a special experience.

Recently, we welcomed two new Major Sponsors: M&M's Chocolate Candies® and 7-Up® brand soft drinks. 7-Up® for years known as "the UNcola" has, as its brand cornerstone, the idea of challenging the field of other soft drinks. With the X PRIZE Foundation challenging how the world has traditionally looked at space travel, the partnership with 7-Up makes perfect sense for both parties. 7-Up graciously provided the beverages for both ANSARI X PRIZE launches, as well as providing some interesting news at our Press Conference (see related story below). As the tag line for the new relationship says: "The only way to go is UP." We most certainly agree!

M&M®s are twenty-plus year veterans of space travel, having traveled into space aboard various Shuttle missions before Mike Melvill "flew" the colorful candies on his flight as the world's first commercial astronaut back in June. "Bringing Color to Space" is how the new relationship with X PRIZE is billed, and we were excited to see "Red" (one of the more interesting M&M®s characters) fly into space on the side of White Knight and SpaceShipOne. M&M®s printed up some special "ANSARI X PRIZE Commemorative Mix" M&M®s for us to distribute at the launches. Each candy had either a small rocket icon or the word "GO" printed on it!

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL THE AMAZING PEOPLE AND COMPANIES WHO ARE HELPING TO MAKE THE DREAM OF PRIVATE SPACEFLIGHT A REALITY!!!

Photo Caption: Pilot and Astronaut Mike Melville poses with two racing machines.
Photo courtesy X PRIZE Foundation

The X PRIZE Foundation Gains Two New Members!

Brooke Owens
Director of Team Relations & Special Projects

Pilot and space enthusiast, Brooke Owens just joined up with the X PRIZE Foundation as the Director of Team Relations & Special Projects. Brooke will act as the liaison between the Foundation and the teams, working to incorporate the ideas and visions of the various teams into the future of the X PRIZE CUP. In addition, she will play an active role in concept development for future prizes such as X PRIZE CUP, the WTN X PRIZES and others as they occur. Previously a Research Historian for NASA JSC, Brooke holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Master's of Space Studies from the International Space University. Said Ms. Owens, "I'm thrilled at the opportunity to work with such an amazing collection of individuals in this private spaceflight revolution," said Brooke, "We will go forward and continue to make the dream of private spaceflight a reality!"

To contact Ms. Owens, please email her at brooke@xprize.org.

Keith Powers
VP of Business Development

In his new role as Vice President of Business Development, Keith Powers is responsible for the X PRIZE's corporate sponsorship program as well as a number of other mission critical activities. An entrepreneur at heart, Keith has an eclectic background that includes leadership roles in startups, in corporate America and in the non-profit world. He has a wide range of experience in the USA, Latin America and Asia that includes strategic planning, interactive and traditional advertising and marketing, promotions, event marketing, financial planning, operations, retail consulting, licensing, and organizational development. As an accomplished senior manager and marketing professional with experience working in both agency and client environments, Keith understands the key ingredients required to build and maintain mutually beneficial sponsorship products. Keith received his B.A. with Honors from Northeastern University and his MBA from Thunderbird-The Garvin School of International Management. Keith has lived, worked or studied in over 30 countries and is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Japanese.

To contact Keith please email him at Powers@Xprize.org.

TEAM NEWS:

Richard Branson Announces Agreement with Mojave Aerospace Ventures

Just before the first historic ANSARI X PRIZE flight, Sir Richard Branson announced that Virgin Group has entered into an agreement to license the technology to develop the world's first privately funded spaceships dedicated to carrying commercial passengers on space flights. The technology is currently owned by a Paul Allen company called Mojave Aerospace Ventures ("M.A.V.") and was originally developed to fulfill Paul Allen's vision of building the world's first privately funded, reusable space vehicle SpaceShipOne. A licensing deal with M.A.V. could be worth up to £14 million ($21.5 million) over the next fifteen years depending on the number of spaceships built by Virgin.

Photo courtesy of Virgin Group.

ANSARI X PRIZE and Scaled Composites Honored at Space Frontier Conference

The Space Frontier Foundation Saturday bestowed two prestigious awards on Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites Tier One Team, creators of SpaceShipOne, and the ANSARI X PRIZE Foundation, for their recent dramatic contributions in opening the space frontier.

"These two organizations have done what no one in the private sector has ever done before - flown a civilian in space on a commercial rocketship, and by doing so they blew the hinges off the door to the frontier." said the Foundation's Rick Tumlinson. "It is only fitting that the Space Frontier Foundation gives its highest honors to those who have flown the highest. We are proud to be able to recognize their accomplishments."

The awards were presented at the Foundation's annual conference on the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach California, Oct.8-10, 2004. For further information go to: http://www.space-frontier.org

Photo Caption: X PRIZE Foundation Vice Chairman Robert K. Weiss and Aerospace Pioneer Burt Rutan pose with their awards at the Space Frontier Banquet.
Photo by Samuel Coniglio, http://www.samsphotography.net

Incredible Adventures and Rocketplane Ltd. Join Forces

Incredible Adventures, the Sarasota Florida-based company best known for offering supersonic MiG flights, and Rocketplane Limited, Inc., an Oklahoma corporation dedicated to revolutionizing space travel, have signed a marketing agreement. Both companies will soon begin taking reservations for Rocketplane's suborbital spaceflight experience, slated to launch in 2007.

For more information, please visit RocketPlane's website: http://www.rocketplane.com/mediacenter/rliandia.html

Image courtesy of Rocketplane Limited, Inc.

Starchaser Making Advances in Fuel, Escape System, Engine

The UK-based Starchaser Industries is making strides in propulsion and personnel safety. They recently received several key components for their High Test Peroxide processing plant, which will allow them to produce their own high grade hydrogen peroxide fuel. They will be in position to run a series of catalyst pack tests within a few weeks (peroxide uses a catalyst, such as silver, to cause a propulsive reaction).

In addition, the company is accelerating their Launch Escape System (LES) program and plan to test a scaled version of the LES in early 2005 from a UK launch site. With most of the composite work on the full-scale Thunderstar boilerplate capsule nearing completion, Starchaser are looking forward to test fitting the full Launch Escape System before Christmas. The boilerplate capsule is also currently being used to facilitate detailed escape hatch design and analysis.

Finally, the combustion chamber, engine bell and outer cooling jacket of Starchaser's next generation rocket engine are now complete. After a few delays, Starchaser will take delivery of their first Churchill Mark III liquid propellant rocket engine. With an average thrust of 147 KN (33,000 lbf), the Mark III LOX / kerosene engine is five times more powerful than the Mark II and will qualify as the largest liquid rocket engine to have been built in the UK since the British Government cancelled it's rocket development programme more than 30 years ago.

Photo Caption: Churchill Mark III liquid propellant rocket engine.
Photo courtesy of Starchaser Industries.

Pablo de Leon and Associates Vow to Continue Work

After the successful flight of SpaceShipOne, and the winning of the ANSARI X PRIZE, Pablo de Leon and Associates, the ANSARI X PRIZE competitor from of Buenos Aires, Argentina announced that their team will continue development towards the development of a suborbital transport.

"We are seriously committed to this project," said team leader Pablo DeLeon, "and we already spent enough time and effort in our development, so our goal is to continue until we see it finished no matter how long will take. We believe there is a future in suborbital transportation."

See the latest updates at http://www.pablodeleon.com/

Photo courtesy of Pablo de Leon and Associates.

Interorbital Joins America's Space Prize Competition

The ANSARI X PRIZE may have already been won, but Interorbital Systems is continues its efforts toward space tourism. According to MSNBC.com, Interorbital is currently constructing two new rockets: the Nano, which will send tiny satellites into orbit, and the Neptune, a rocket capable of ferrying up to eight people into orbit. The team plans to compete for the "America's Space Prize" that is being offered by entrepreneur Robert Bigelow for a private vehicle that can carry passengers to Earth orbit. "The fact that this orbital prize has come up is really interesting to us," team co-leader Randa Milliron told MSNBC.com. Testing will continue later this month.

Image courtesy of Interorbital Systems.