Las Vegas SUN: 1st Private, Manned Rocket Set for Launch
MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) -

Aviation enthusiasts began gathering Sunday in the high desert in hopes of seeing the first flight into space by a privately developed, manned rocket. Thousands of people were expected to be watching early Monday when an exotic jet-engined airplane named White Knight was set to take off from Mojave Airport carrying the rocket-propelled SpaceShipOne. If SpaceShipOne is successful, designer Burt Rutan and his Scaled Composites development company will use the craft to make a run at the $10 million Ansari X Prize, a formal competition intended to spur commercial development of spaceflight.


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The privatization of space travel proceeds apace. This reminds me of the film "Alien," where "The Company" is mining in outer space and, of course, has an evil ulterior (profit) motive to exploit the Alien's hardy predatory nature for "the Weapons Division." Call me if White Night comes back with a xenomorph.