America's Space Prize was a US$50 million
space competition
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
in
orbital spaceflight
An orbital spaceflight (or orbital flight) is a spaceflight in which a spacecraft is placed on a trajectory where it could remain in space for at least one orbit. To do this around the Earth, it must be on a free trajectory which has an altit ...
established and funded in 2004 by hotel entrepreneur
Robert Bigelow
Robert Thomas Bigelow (born May 12, 1944) is an American businessman. He owns the hotel chain Budget Suites of America and is the founder of Bigelow Aerospace.
In 2011, ''Forbes'' estimated his net worth to be $700 million.
Bigelow has provi ...
. The prize would have been awarded to the first US-based privately funded team to design and build a reusable crewed capsule capable of flying 5 astronauts to a
Bigelow Aerospace
Bigelow Aerospace is an American aeronautics and outer space technology company which manufactures and develops expandable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1998, and is based in North Las Vegas, Nevada. ...
inflatable space module. The criteria also required the capsule be recovered and flown again in 60 days. The prize expired January 10, 2010, without a winner or any test flights attempted. The teams were required to have been based in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
History
The prize was announced by Bigelow on 17 December 2003—the 100th anniversary of the
Wright brothers first powered
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
flight.
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Prize rules
A set of ten criteria were set up in order for a contestant to win the prize.
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# The spacecraft must reach a minimum altitude of 400 kilometers (approximately 250 miles);
# The spacecraft must reach a minimum velocity sufficient to complete two (2) full orbits at altitude before returning to Earth;
# The spacecraft must carry no less than a crew of five (5) people;
# The spacecraft must dock or demonstrate its ability to dock with a Bigelow Aerospace inflatable space habitat, and be capable of remaining on station at least six (6) months;
# The spacecraft must perform two (2) consecutive, safe and successful orbital missions within a period of sixty (60) calendar days, subject to Government regulations;
# No more than twenty percent (20%) of the spacecraft may be composed of expendable hardware;
# The contestant must be domiciled in the United States of America.
# The contestant must have its principal place of business in the United States of America;
# The Competitor must not accept or utilize government development funding related to this contest of any kind, nor shall there be any government ownership of the competitor. Use in government test facilities shall be permitted; and
# The spacecraft must complete its two (2) missions safely and successfully, with all five (5) crew members aboard for the second qualifying flight, before the competition's deadline of Jan. 10, 2010
Contestants
Since the launch of the prize, 40 companies had expressed interest, but either did not have the money which would apparently be needed, or, in the case of SpaceX, were ineligible due to having accepted government funding. Despite the lack of interest, Bigelow did not revise the prize rules, planning instead to seek transportation to space other ways.
A few contestants have been:
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Interorbital Systems
Interorbital Systems (IOS) is an American rocket and satellite manufacturer located in Mojave, California. The company was founded in 1996 by Roderick and Randa Milliron and is currently completing the development of the worlds lowest-cost orbital ...
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JP Aerospace
JP Aerospace is an American company that aims to achieve affordable access to space. Their main activities include high-atmospheric lighter-than-air flights carrying cameras or miniature experiments called PongSats and minicubes. They are also enga ...
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SpaceDev
SpaceDev, a part of the "Space Systems Business" of Sierra Nevada Corporation, is prominent for its spaceflight and microsatellite work. It designed and built components for the hybrid rocket motors for Paul Allen's Tier One suborbital SpaceS ...
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SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...
See also
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Orteig Prize
The Orteig Prize was a reward offered to the first Allied aviator(s) to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice versa.Bak. Pages 28 and 29.
Several famous aviators made unsuccessful attempts at the New York–Paris flight before the rela ...
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Ansari X Prize
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Mprize
The Methuselah Foundation is an American-based global non-profit organization, based in Springfield, Virginia, with a declared mission to "make 90 the new 50 by 2030" by supporting tissue engineering and regenerative medicine therapies. The orga ...
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N-prize
The N-Prize (the "N" stands for "Nanosatellite" or "Negligible Resources".) is an inducement prize contest intended to "encourage creativity, originality and inventiveness in the face of severe odds and impossible financial restrictions" and thu ...
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List of space technology awards
This list of space technology awards is an index to articles about notable awards related to space technology. This includes awards for development of spacecraft, satellites, space stations, and support infrastructure, equipment, and procedures. ...
References
External links
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America's Space Prize in ''Encyclopedia Astronautica''SPACE.COM (November 8, 2004)
{{Space tourism
Space organizations
Space-related awards
Challenge awards
Private spaceflight
2004 establishments in the United States
2010 disestablishments in the United States