Paul Allen & Space Development Corp will launch their first attempt for the X prixe Sept 29 with the 2nd flight in the 1st week of Oct. To date their Space Ship One is the first privately funded,designed & privately owned aircraft to break the sound barrier, as well as reaching over 62 miles in altitude To win the X Prize they must fly over 62 miles twice within a set period of time, 2 weeks I think, w 3 people on board Paul & SPDV are already thinking beyond the SS1. They are designing a real spacecraft that can reach the International Space Station, it will be a 21st C space shuttle a lot cheaper & better than NASA's 1970s version. This new spacecraft is to be called the DREAM CHASER
http://www.xprize.com Its simialir to the prize that Chalres Lindberg won when he was the first man to fly solo from the US to Paris The X prize is a $10M prize for the 1st team to build a spacecraft w private funds and take 3 people at least 62.5 miles into the atmosphere, Thats considered to be the edge of space, and do it twice within 2 weeks Paul Allen (Micorsoft), Burt Rutan & Space Development are currently the team with the best chance of winning.
