Rutan hits 200k feet! Almost there!

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...

"Thomas J. Paladino Jr." wrote in message
.. .
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4970837/


Exciting stuff!

Rutan's SpaceShipOne hit 200,000 feet today over their Mojave test site.


That last third of the flight is going to be tough. It took 55% fuel just
to
reach 211,000 feet. Most of the remainder will be needed just to carry a
full load of fuel that high. Plus, there was only one person on board. To
get the X Prize, they have to carry three people.

Not only that, they have been managing only one Spaceship One flight every
couple of months (lately about one a month). They have made only three
powered flights. What do they need for the X Prize -- something like one
every two weeks, isn't it?

It may take a little while for them to get it all together, but they do
appear to be a lot closer.

http://www.xprize.org/

The news over here (UK) said it may be achieved some time later this year,
maybe August or September. It said the Rutan project was the leader, but
there are another two not too far behind.

Starchaser Industries weren't mentiond in the leading three, so I don't know
if they've fallen behind.
http://www.starchaser.co.uk/

Paul