America's Space Prize

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The America's Space Prize was a competition launched in 2004 , which, similar to the Ansari X-Prize, is intended to award a successful manned orbital flight .

This competition was initiated and financed by the US multibillionaire Robert Bigelow . The prize money was $ 50 million; the competition ended on January 10, 2010.

Compared to the Ansari X-Prize, the requirements of this competition were much higher: A spaceship - designed and operated by a private investor or an organization - had to reach a minimum altitude of 400 kilometers (the ISS is also at this height), and also had to the crew of the ship consist of five people.

Another $ 200 million was awarded for six successive space flights, and $ 800 million for 24 flights.

conditions

  1. The spaceship must reach a minimum flight altitude of 400 kilometers
  2. The airspeed must be such that two complete orbits of the earth are possible
  3. The spaceship must be able to transport at least five people
  4. The spaceship must be capable of docking at a space station ( Nautilus ) planned by Bigelow Aerospace for at least six months
  5. Two successful missions must be flown within a period of 60 days
  6. The spaceship must be at least 80% reusable
  7. Two successful missions must be flown in order to win the prize money; at least five crew members must be on board during the second flight
  8. The competitor must be a resident of the United States
  9. No state support may be used, with the exception of the use of state test stands and similar facilities

Result

The prize could not be triggered within the given period. Around forty companies expressed interest, but ultimately none of the qualified candidates carried out a test flight. The only promising company, SpaceX , was not allowed to compete because it had accepted government funds. Meanwhile, Bigelow has withdrawn the award; he's now looking for other ways to get a space shuttle.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jeff Foust: Bigelow Aerospace's big day at the rodeo. The Space Review, July 24, 2006, accessed March 31, 2011 .

See also

Web links