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Published online 27 September 2004 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news040927-5
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X prize: the facts
As SpaceShipOne points its nose towards the stars, news@nature.com fills you in on the nuts and bolts of the X prize competition.
What is the X prize?
It is a $10-million jackpot that will be awarded to the first spacecraft built with private funds to carry a pilot and the weight of two passengers 100 kilometres above the earth and across the official threshold into space.
Why was it set up?
The prize was established in 1996 by space enthusiasts keen to kick-start an era of affordable, private space travel, which would resemble the commercial air industry.
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