Annals of Adventure–SpaceShip One: If you are a space junkie, the Mojave desert is the place to be today. That’s where–if the weather is decent–a space plane built by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen and engineering whiz Burt Rutan (whose last trick was to build a plane that flew around the earth non-stop on one tank of gas), will attempt to become the first privately built craft to leave earth’s atmosphere. That’s an altitude of 62 miles, and the rocket will experience a few minutes of weightlessness before gliding back to earth and–hopefully–landing safely. Allen and Rutan are leading contenders in a new sort of space race, a race which has a prize of $10 million. It’s called the Ansari X Prize, and it is similar to the Orteig Prize that inspired Charles Lindbergh to fly across the Atlantic. To win it, a team has to produce a privately financed spacecraft that is able to jack three people into space, return safely to Earth, and then repeat that trip within a two week period. Allen, who throws money into a lot of odd projects, basically opened his checkbook and told Rutan to go for it. So far the project has cost more than $20 million (but who’s counting?) and Allen and Rutan hope they are about to pioneer a new era in non-governmenal space travel. Not sure what the public would use a space plane for, other than the world’s most expensive thrill ride. Still, it’s a very cool project and no slam dunk. In December, a test flight ended in a semi-crash on the landing strip. Space.Com has this thing covered from all angles, so click here if you want enough detail to make a Klingon-speaking Trekkie happy…



Oops: “Goddammit! The Anna Kournikova virus again?! I don’t care if it’s Paul Allen. We’re dumping the Microsoft software from the control system, and that’s final!”