August 5, 2003

Richard Ellis, a Caltech scientist and a former professor of astronomy at Cambridge University is unimpressed with the X-Prize competition for private companies to develop a reusable suborbital "space" craft. He states: "It's like being in the early 19th century and someone says, 'Well, I'm sure one day someone will get to the South Pole, here's a million-dollar prize for someone to go to the equator.' Getting into space cheaply - genuinely into space, that is - is a very different thing." The Independent also has a hard hitting quote from Alan Bond, a British rocket engineer "It's very fringe, and in particular it is potentially dangerous. On paper you can lash up a rocket and get the prize, provided you can cut out the safety measures. But it is putting lives at risk for no possible gain". A reusable unmanned craft that can go to low orbit would be much safer and useful. 8:45:53 PM