X Prize paves way for civilian space flight

Up for Debate

A stout, star-spangled rocket plane broke through the Earth’s atmosphere to the edge of space last Monday for the second time in five days, capturing a $10 million prize aimed at opening the final frontier to tourists.

The privately built SpaceShipOne took off underneath the belly of a mother plane that carried it about nine miles over the California Mojave Desert. From there, SpaceShipOne fired its engine and streaked skyward at about three times the speed of sound on a half-hour flight that took it more than 62 miles high, generally considered the point where space begins.

SpaceShipOne — with test pilot Brian Binnie at the controls — then glided safely back to Earth.
The reward for the achievement is the $10 million Ansari X Prize, created in 1996 to kick-start the development of privately built rocket ships that could make spaceflight available to the public.

To win the prize, a spacecraft capable of carrying three people had to make two flights to an altitude just over 62 miles within two weeks. The goal was to show that the rocket could go back and forth like a spaceliner.

X Prize chief judge Rick Searfoss said the spacecraft reached a height of 367,442 feet and speeds of Mach 3.09 during ascent and Mach 3.26 on the way down.
Associated Press

Nathan Chiantella, senior writer

I find SpaceShipOne’s feat to be amazing and it certainly will revolutionize the way we live. It is the sort of achievement that makes you proud to be an American. However, upon hearing of this, my mind — unfortunately — switches over to Paris Hilton.

What does technology have to do with the heiress? Well, for one thing, if night-vision never had been invented, her film debut would have been much less enthralling. Yet it is not her body of work I would like to discuss, but rather her immense wealth. Actually, I’d like to talk about all the obnoxiously rich.

SpaceShipOne has paved the way for space tourism by the un-astronautic. Sadly for Jon Q. Public, the tickets for these flights may start at somewhere around $200,000, according to The New York Times. While this is change to the young and overpaid, this is a lifetime of wealth to your normal American.

Just imagine pinching your pennies and picking up extra shifts for years to catch a glimpse of the earth from 70 miles up. The only problem is when you get onto the craft you have to put up with the guy who plays Fes on "That 70s Show" complaining that his Amstel Light is not quite cold enough.

It will not take long for J. Lo to take her honey to the moon or 50 Cent to rock platinum on Mercury. I doubt our brave astronauts knew the economic power of space extended past the marketing of Tang — they certainly are in for a surprise.

Alex Sirney, opinion editor

While the accomplishments of the designers and crew of SpaceShipOne are admirable, the transfer of space travel from governmental control to civilian could create serious conflict on an international level.

As a novelty, there is not a huge threat — the playgrounds of the rich rarely have held national governments in fear. The threats begin to surface when space travel begins to be used as a method of transportation. Nations now have the ability to regulate their airspace — if a threat appears, it usually is apparent and easily can be dealt with. When traveling through space, however, the spaceship passes over international boundaries indiscriminately by nature — it’s a physical impossibility for it to be any other way. As a result, any nation or terrorist organization could launch an attack from orbit without any warning necessarily reaching the attacked until it was too late.

This bleak possibility is something far in the future — a day when reality catches up with science fiction. That day is one large step closer now, however, and appropriate treaties and legislation should be established on a global scale to prevent any disaster from occurring. The mark of scientific achievement that SpaceShipOne represents should coincide with an equally great social achievement. If the international community can establish a system for dealing peaceably in outer space, it could be a bold step toward a plan for dealing peaceably on land.

Matthew Stoss, senior writer

What a fabulous concept: the people prevailing in the ruins of long-forgotten government projects. Our administrative lords recently have abandoned celestial aspirations — until recently, when George W. Bush made it known that he wishes to put a man on Mars one day. With the lull in outer-firmamental flying, space programs have made their way from the realm of high and mighty world powers to that of the private sector.

SpaceShipOne’s sponsors so far are the civilian equivalent of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration. Now, space is not solely the realm of highly trained servicemen, but rather it has been opened to the "everyman." But the first commercial spaceflight goes beyond that; it balances the power between citizen and state — and how much fun is that? So much fun that as soon as it can be done, the Federal Aviation Administration likely will regulate what can — and can’t — be done with civilian space travel.

Never in the history of existence has something this monumental been achieved without a government’s backing. Comparable events include the happening upon of the North American continent, Lewis and Clark’s exploration of that continent and current deep-sea research. But they, unlike SpaceShipOne, all were accomplished with the federal dollar. That fact makes the success of SpaceShipOne all the more beauteous.

Some things are sacred — specifically governmental advantages over its sovereign. Anytime we, the ruled, can bring ourselves to the same rank as entrenched bureaucracy and challenge the domain of endeavors previously unattainable intrinsically is disco. Go us.