Aljazeera.Net - Rivals eye prize in private space race
: "Wednesday 12 May 2004, 18:42 Makka Time, 15:42 GMT







Likely winner, Spaceship One, must reach an altitude of 100km








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A $10 million prize for the first private company to put a craft into space may soon be won.



Peter Diamandis, the Ansari X-Prize Foundation chairman, expects to pay up within five months – though the winner is likely to have spent far more on the spaceship's development.


Speaking at the recent 41st Space Congress, held at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Wednesday, Diamandis backed aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan as the favourite to win.


And although a total of 26 teams are competing, some have already started to look at what they might do after the main challenge has been met.
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