Having actually been to the competition, I can correct a few things.
The ribbon was NOT made out of carbon nanotubes. The creation of the ribbon material is, in fact, an entirely different contest. The ribbon was actually plain old rubber.
The costs for each climber ranged from $2,000 to $50,000. $200,000 is actually pretty good for these people.
SpaceShipOne was funded to the tune of twenty million dollars, as far as I know. Ten million wasn't enough to cover the costs, but it went a good way.
Finally, last year, the top climber didn't even get to the top of the ribbon. This year, the top climber did it in two minutes. I'd say a win is quite likely next year.
Slashdot Mirror
Having actually been to the competition, I can correct a few things. The ribbon was NOT made out of carbon nanotubes. The creation of the ribbon material is, in fact, an entirely different contest. The ribbon was actually plain old rubber. The costs for each climber ranged from $2,000 to $50,000. $200,000 is actually pretty good for these people. SpaceShipOne was funded to the tune of twenty million dollars, as far as I know. Ten million wasn't enough to cover the costs, but it went a good way. Finally, last year, the top climber didn't even get to the top of the ribbon. This year, the top climber did it in two minutes. I'd say a win is quite likely next year.