Perspective: Actually, It Really is Rocket Science

Birmingham Post; Birmingham (UK)
The hottest topic in aviation today is the Ansari X-Prize. So what is it, who’s going to win and what will they do next?
The Ansari X Prize represents a reward of $10 million for the first team to fly a piloted spacecraft beyond the earth’s atmosphere. When it was first announced, many in the industry dismissed the whole idea as gimmick. A few weeks ago, all that began to change.
The test flight of the first realistic contender for the award has sent shock waves throughout the space community and even the sceptics are starting to pay attention.
The prize carries echoes of previous trophies in the history of aviation. For example, the Schneider Trophy was centred on a race around the Isle of White in the 1930s. On one occasion, the legendary British company Super Marine managed to win with an aircraft which would become the fore father of the Spitfire. Read More