New Billion Dollar Space Prize Announced

Wowser! A Billion $$$ Space Prize!

Link: HERE

Oh, but you have to do something for it.

For 25 orbital flights over four or five years, they pay you $800 million, and they get to keep the spacecaft.

But first you have to do six orbital flights, for which they pay you $200 million.

But before that, you have to fly 400 miles into space doing two orbits, and then repeat that feat within 60 days, but carry five live people with you the second time. For that, they will pay you $50 million dollars. You also have to dock with an inflatable Nautilus space station while you are up there.

Also, you have to be an American company, using American made space hardware. NASA, nor any other major space agency, such as the Air Force, are not allowed to give you the spaceship you will be using. However, you may use their space testing facilities if they want you to.

Lastly, you got to do the first two orbits before January 10th, 2010.

You know, this next hurtle for private space endeavors is a bit higher than the last one, where someone just had to touch space, 60 miles up, and come back down in one piece. They had to repeat their feat within two weeks of the first one, and they could carry weights instead of two extra passengers.

What are the odds of anyone winning the new billion dollar space prize?

I have a very large dog I don’t like, and a couple of cases of dynamite, and some large diameter heavy steel pipe, but the rules of this new space prize are a bit more difficult than I thought they would be, for putting something into orbit. So it doesn’t look like I will try for this one. (Just kidding about the dynamite.)

The first part of the prize – the $50 million part – is being offered by Robert Bigelow, of the Nevada Bigelow Aerospace Corporation. His company is the one who is developing the inflatable space station.

Given that NASA is hostage to Russian Soyuz spacecraft for getting anything into orbit for the forseeable future, some American company needs to get into this contest and win it.

Bigelow will send anyone who is interested in doing this a complete starter package that spells out the rules completely. (Anyone want a big dog for a test flight subject?)