Private Craft Rockets Past Edge of Space

The privately funded plane SpaceShipOne completed the first half of the test that leads to a 10 million dollar prize. The 10 million dollars are the prize for the contest, called the Ansari X Prize, for a privately funded plane to break the atmosphere-space barrier, the widely accepted 100 kilometers above the surface of the earth, twice in two weeks. SpaceShipOne lifted off at 7:10 am on September 29th and the second required flight is sheduled for Monday October 4th. In the first fight, it reached a maximum, but unofficial, height of 337,500 feet, above the goal of 328,000 feet. The craft was created by Burt Rutan and was funded by Paul G. Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft. This is only the first of at least 12 teams competing for the X Prize. The flight did have its problems, there were unexpected rolls that could have crashed the expensive vehicle. This achievement comes at a time when space is being opened up to the public. Virgin Airlines announced that it is developing space tour flights to being tentatively in 2007. NASA's director sees the flight of SpaceShipOne a step forward, that it is history in the making.