Spaceshipone Spacecraft

Pioneering aircraft designer Burt Rutan, whose Space- ShipOne manned rocket became the first privately funded vehicle to reach space last month, said Tuesday that he would try to win the $10-million Ansari X Prize this fall. The prize, funded by private donors and created to spur commercial spaceflight, is being offered to the first vehicle to fly three people into space, return them safely to Earth and then repeat the exercise within two weeks.

The designers of the first privately funded manned rocket to burst into space were handed a $10-million check Saturday, a prize designed to encourage technology that would open the heavens to tourists. SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan accepted the Ansari X Prize money, along with a 150-pound trophy, as a chase plane flew over the ceremony in a field adjacent to the St. Louis Science Center.

SpaceShipOne, a privately funded manned rocket, soared into space and back Monday for the second time in less than a week, claiming a $10-million prize and raising prospects for low-cost, reliable personal spaceflights. The flight's success brings to the fore a host of legal, regulatory and business questions that will determine whether the dream of commercial manned spaceflight can become a reality.

SpaceShipOne, a privately funded manned rocket, soared into space and back Monday for the second time in less than a week, claiming a $10-million prize and raising prospects for low-cost, reliable personal spaceflights. The flight's success brings to the fore a host of legal, regulatory and business questions that will determine whether the dream of commercial manned spaceflight can become a reality.

A team funded by billionaire Paul Allen will attempt to launch the first nongovernmental manned flight into space June 21, the group said Wednesday. They hope to send SpaceShipOne, created by aviation designer Burt Rutan, to an altitude of 62 miles on a suborbital flight over the Mojave Desert. The rocket plane reached an altitude of about 40 miles during a test flight May 13. Suborbital flights are essentially up and down.

The designers of the first privately funded manned rocket to burst into space were handed a $10-million check Saturday, a prize designed to encourage technology that would open the heavens to tourists. SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan accepted the Ansari X Prize money, along with a 150-pound trophy, as a chase plane flew over the ceremony in a field adjacent to the St. Louis Science Center.

Pioneering aircraft designer Burt Rutan, whose Space- ShipOne manned rocket became the first privately funded vehicle to reach space last month, said Tuesday that he would try to win the $10-million Ansari X Prize this fall. The prize, funded by private donors and created to spur commercial spaceflight, is being offered to the first vehicle to fly three people into space, return them safely to Earth and then repeat the exercise within two weeks.

A team funded by billionaire Paul Allen will attempt to launch the first nongovernmental manned flight into space June 21, the group said Wednesday. They hope to send SpaceShipOne, created by aviation designer Burt Rutan, to an altitude of 62 miles on a suborbital flight over the Mojave Desert. The rocket plane reached an altitude of about 40 miles during a test flight May 13. Suborbital flights are essentially up and down.