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X Prize Launch At Mojave Spaceport [updated: success!]
knovis writes "The Ansari X Prize is being attempted at this moment: 9:30am EST. Bert Rutan and Paul Allen's Scaled Composites is preparing to make the first of 2 launches necessary. For the uninitiated, the X-Prize is a $10M prize available to the first entirely privately funded organization that creates a vehicle that travels to 100km above the earth's surface (low earth orbit) twice within 2 weeks. IIRC, SpaceShipOne is planning 3 flights for that 2 week period, for safety. Best of luck to Private Spaceflight. Did anyone else notice that Virgin Galactic has just been launched?"
Project Zen writes "MSNBC has an article about how the seats won't be filled with people but mementos of the crew." Several readers sent links to CNN's story on the flight, and space.com's continuing coverage, including by webcam; NASA TV also has an eye on the launch. (Watch this space for updates.) Update: 09/29 15:57 GMT by T : Disconnect writes "As reported all over, SpaceShipOne successfully flew its first X-Prize flight attempt. As of now (11:45:40EST) the officials have not cleared the flight as successful, but it's looking good."
Given that the webcast is fscking useless, the best coverage I've dug up so far is that by "Spaceflight Now": http://spaceflightnow.com/ss1/status.html
Real Media
Real Media high quality
Windows Media
Many more...
until it got /.'ed to hell. What sort of story will we tell our grandchildren?
"Yeah... I remember when the first commercial space launch occured. I was sitting in front of an idle browser window..."
What is music when you despise all sound?
Its Burt not Bert and Scaled Composites is Burt's company not Burt's and Paul Allen's. Paul Allen is just funding this particular project. Scaled has done many other interesting projects over the years.
Ah, CNN said it was "delayed." Granted CNN also had a woman report asking if there was some kind of rocket required to get it to space. It was just discussed but another reporter, it almost appears as though half the people at CNN don't have the faintest idea as to what's really going on.
Kyle
http://www.unlogikal.net/
That is normal, don't worry about it.
It's not a lie. It's the truth with lossy compression.
Branding the X-Prize at the (relative) last minute, post-establishment, has always seemed like a real second-hander move to me.
Once upon a time, I was truly excited and idealistic about the X-Prize. Now that it's the Ansari X Prize, and the Microsoft billionaire's project is going to win, it feels a bit "so what?"... it seems like Ansari and Allen could have just teamed up and accomplished the same thing - only, I guess, there wouldn't be as much publicity that way (and maybe no subsequent deals with Virgin). But the "contest" aspect now rings false and feels extraneous.
Nope, the official rules say you have to have the weight of 3 people, but you dont have to actually have 3 people.
Point out to your manager, the one who hires hotshots straight out of school instead of proven workers with years of experience: Mike Melvill, the pilot who just made history, is sixty-three years old. In some businesses he would be just two years from mandatory retirement; at Scaled Composites, Mike Melvill is still the hotshot.
I figure by 2030 or so my 6-digit UID will be something to brag about.
Ohh, screw you. It's a good way of saying "I'm wishing you luck."
What else is there to do? Tell him "well, statistics say you're fucked."