X PRIZE receives multimillion dollar donation!

CELEBRATING ANNIVERSARY OF HISTORIC SPACE FLIGHT, ANSARI FAMILY'S DONATION GIVES HUGE BOOST TO FUTURE SPACE TRAVEL AND TOURISM

Celebrating Anniversary of Historic Space Flight, Ansari Family's Donation Gives Huge Boost to Future Space Travel and Tourism
Entrepreneurial family makes multimillion dollar donation to visionary X PRIZE Competition on 43rd anniversary of astronaut Alan Shepard's remarkable suborbital space flight

Los Angeles, CA (May 5, 2004) - Entrepreneurs Anousheh Ansari and Amir Ansari, today announced a multimillion dollar contribution to the X PRIZE Foundation which runs an international competition among private spaceships designed to fly the general public into space. On this day, the 43rd anniversary of astronaut Alan Shepard's suborbital flight into space, the X PRIZE competition is being renamed the ANSARI X PRIZE Competition to reflect the newly-established title sponsorship. The ANSARI X PRIZE is modeled after the $25,000 Orteig Prize won by Charles Lindbergh in 1927 for his historic flight from New York to Paris.


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. The competition has been endorsed by leading space and aviation organizations around the world and includes the vision to jump-start the commercialization of space travel and industry the same way that Orteig Prize opened today's commercial airways.

Space exploration has always been a childhood dream for both Anousheh and brother-in-law Amir, who were born in Iran. "As a child I looked at the stars and dreamed of being able to travel into space," said Anousheh, an avid space enthusiast. "As an adult, I understand that the only way this dream will become a reality is with the participation of private industry and the creative passion of smart entrepreneurs. The ANSARI X PRIZE provides the perfect vehicle to ignite the imagination and passion of fellow entrepreneurs, giving them and their courageous pilots a platform for success."

Currently, 26 teams from seven nations around the world have registered to compete. Several teams have already conducted successful test launches and plan to announce their competition launches within the next few months.

"The vision for the X PRIZE Foundation and the ANSARI X PRIZE competition began in May 1996 with the support of the business leaders from the St. Louis Community," said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, X PRIZE Foundation Chairman and Founder. "My dream, along with Anousheh and Amir, has been to open space travel to the public. With profound thanks to the Ansari family, we have created a self-fulfilling prophecy. The ANSARI X PRIZE Teams are creating a multitude of different designs specifically for public access. One of these unique designs will win in the months ahead and many others will go on to offer commercial services."

In March 2004 the X PRIZE Foundation also announced a Presenting Sponsorship from Champ Car World Series, the leading open-wheel race car series. The competition has room for two remaining major sponsorships which will provide a company with its logo on all the competing spaceships, hospitality and a variety of other benefits.

I was of the opinion that the X Prize was already fully funded (had its $10 mill).

So where is the money going? X Prize 2? Sweet.

i'm not sure how much the x-prize actually has, but i know that the prize itself isn't fully funded by the foundation (or at least wasn't). there was some sort of insurance thing which was the reason for the deadline at the end of this year. i presume the deadline still stands since it's obvious it'll never be reached, but i don't think they need that money anymore. my personal opinion is that this'll mostly go to the x-prize cup, but i suppose they might start x2 off too.

Or it could be used to raise the profile of the event. International Advertising in the areas where rich tourists are likely to be found, two page spreads in the wall street journal etc.

We have whole threads on how appaling the profile is.

Why is it that no one can give money without requiring that their name get plastered all over something?

You don't see Allen's name on the side os SS1, yet

ummm... Maybe Robert Heinlein's classic 1950s story "The Man Who Sold the Moon" should be required reading for all members of the X Prize board. In this 1950s story, Heinlein's character (D. D. Harriman) uses his own fortune and every possible trick to successfully get a man on the moon.

You ask what this piece of 1950s science fiction has to do with today's X Prize? Unlike--say, rocket cars--pretty much everything. It's the spirit and vision of our drive into space.

We don't want to lose or debase that spirit by just any commercial endorsement.

On the other hand, this one is perhaps better than Microsoft or some of the various hygenic-oriented products one can think of.

--Ralph

Alan Boyle of MSNBC reports on why the donation was made and what it will be used for:

Amir Ansari said that he and his sister-in-law had been debating whether to follow in California millionaire Dennis Tito's footsteps and buy a trip to the international space station. But then X Prize founder Peter Diamandis "showed up and said, 'Listen, you don't have to go about it that way,'" he recalled. That's when the Ansaris began to consider their sponsorship of the X Prize.

Amir Ansari declined to specify the precise amount of the contribution and said there were no restrictions on how the money was to be spent. "We just felt that we wanted the X Prize Foundation to succeed," he said.

X Prize spokesman Eric Lindbom said the Ansari family's contribution is being used "to purchase the 'hole-in-one' insurance that covers the $10 million cash purse through Jan. 1, 2005, and also supports the operations and educational mission of the foundation."

I would have liked Ansari Prize or X Prize but not both...

I guess to much mindshare has been invested in the "x" to just drop it though.

Capitalism is a wonderful thing. The XPRIZE organization has spent years successfully promoting private space operations without government financial support (e.i. YOUR TAX DOLLARS!). Now that they are able to raise addition capital by selling the name that they have made valuable, some people are whining.

To the Mr. & Mrs. Whiner,

It Ain't Yours. I for one will keep smiling.

i agree with idiom, ansari x prize < ansari prize || x prize, but it's still pretty cool. they definitely deserve it, because whether or not they're just trying to buy a piece of history (personally i don't think that), it's still the right thing to do, and a huge help to the future of spaceflight.

It's great that good sponsors are coming in. When the prize is won, the name Ansari will be connected historically to making space access more available. Nice way to earn some immortality.

But, I've been following it for years, so I'll probably always call it X-Prize from force of habit.

I don't care about the name... it's all the same...
The credits go to who deserves it... so all ok with me.
As long as the purpose of the X Prize doesn't change