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X-Cup Prize - September 8, 2005 – The EZ-Rocket, a modified homebuilt aircraft powered by twin rocket engines, will conduct several flight tests next month at the first Countdown to the X PRIZE CUP in New Mexico.
Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Richard A. Searfoss, a former NASA astronaut and chief judge of the Ansari X PRIZE, will pilot the jet-powered plane during its flights, which will take place October 6 – 9 at the Las Cruces International Airport.
"This is a marvelous chance for people to get up close and personal with rocket powered vehicles," said XCOR President Jeff Greason. "If the new start-up launch industries, with the encouragement of such organizations as the X PRIZE CUP, can continue on our present course, these is no reason why such flights cannot become routine."
The EZ-Rocket has flown 15 times. The first 13 flights were conducted in Mojave, Calif., while the last two flights were in front of crowds at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2002.
Awarding the $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE to SpaceSpaceOne and White Knight in October 2004 for becoming the first private manned spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 328,000 feet twice within 14 days was really just the beginning. The X PRIZE Foundation and state of New Mexico have since created an alliance to host the X PRIZE CUP and PERSONAL SPACEFLIGHT EXPO, which will allow anyone to take part in the next generation of space flight.
The 2005 Countdown includes a public meeting on the future of spaceflight at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces on Oct. 6; educational and public activities at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo on Oct. 7-8; and a Personal Spaceflight Expo, including engine tests, low-altitude flights and drop tests by a number of X PRIZE teams, at the Las Cruces International Airport on Oct. 9.
Beginning in 2006, the event will be a weeklong series of space-related events and launches. And in the future, the X PRIZE CUP hopes to initiate multimillion-dollar prizes, and thus provide incentives for continued breakthroughs in suborbital operations.
At a glance
- The EZ Rocket is a modified Long-EZ homebuilt aircraft powered by twin 400-pound thrust regeneratively cooled rocket engines and fueled by isopropyl alcohol and liquid oxygen.
- The modifications were performed at XCOR Aerospace's Mojave, California shop in an effort to create an aircraft rocket propulsion system that was safe, simple, cheap, reliable and operable. It was not meant to be sold for private use, but rather testing of the craft was meant to help make the next generation engines better.
So what’s the difference between the X-Prize and the X-Prize Cup?
The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational, non-profit prize institute with a purpose of creating radical breakthroughs in space and technology for the benefit of humanity. Founded by Peter Diamandis in 1996, the Foundation captured headlines in 2004 when it became the primary incentive for the first privately built and funded spaceship. The $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE was won by Burt Rutan and Paul Allen with a manned suborbital spaceflight by SpaceShipOne. The goal of the X PRIZE is to stimulate other breakthroughs in technology — in space, as well as in the fields of health, technology, and the environment — using the same competitive model.
•The X PRIZE CUP is an annual education and entertainment event that will enable the general public to view and participate in spaceflight activities in hopes of promoting the development of the next generation of reusable launch vehicles. The first X PRIZE CUP will be held Oct. 6-9 in New Mexico where tens of thousands of people are expected to attend and see industry leaders conduct test flights, engine firings and more while learning about the next generation of vehicles that will take to space.
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