GSC Update

X-Prize Update

*Wild Fire Mark VI, the product of the volunteer Canadian DaVinci team, is ready to make it's bid for the X-Prize. After securing rights from the Canadian government to launch it's commerical space vehicle, the team has bounced back from it's earlier delay (citing control issues) for a launch window from October 2nd to November 1st.

*All eyes, however, are on Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne. Civillian astronaut Mike Melvill piloted the craft to 103 kilometers (100 being the "edge of space") on Wednesday despite an unexpected series of rolls. The rotations, which rocked the craft and have yet to be explained, were eventually evened out after the pilot had reached the barrier travelling at Mach 2.7 (almost 3 times the speed of sound). A smooth landing followed, and the team is preparing to launch again (within two weeks, for the X-Prize) as early as Monday, October 4th- the Anniversary of Sputnik's historic launch. Turnaround time for Burt Rutan' spaceship processing is less than a week, whereas the Space Shuttle takes months- a revolution in space access.

"It actually could be done faster if we had to," Rutan said.

As always, information from Space.com
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