Canadian X-Prize Entry Gearing Up

lommer writes "The Globe and Mail has a piece up about the Canadian Da Vinci team which is making a bid for the X-prize. The team has finalized a launch location (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) and will announce a launch date this month. Meanwhile, Burt Rutan and Co. over at Scaled Composites appear to be back on track with a succesful test flight on March 11 after their December crash. One has to wonder, with launch dates being set, will some projects step up and attempt a flight without being fully ready for it?"

Comments

Of course!

[Midnight Ryder]

One has to wonder, with launch dates being set, will some projects step up and attempt a flight without being fully ready for it?

Of course - this sort of venture always comes with risk, and one of 'em is pushing your timetable up because the other guy looks like he's about to win. Given what happens when you screw up with space flight, I'd expect to see a fatality or two occur in the next couple o' years.

And one should keep in mind: It's all fun and games until someone gets killed. Then it's a SPORT! :-)