Space. The final frontier
for . . . entrepreneurs? As the millennium
approaches, it seems fitting that space travel is expected to be
touted as one of the biggest entrepreneurial opportunities to hit
planet Earth in the coming century.
Historically, the business of space travel has been limited to
academic and government organizations, with NASA flights costing
roughly $500 million and only a handful of astronauts making the
trips. Now, nearly 30 years after man first landed on the moon, a
move to privatize the industry is underway in hopes of spurring
competition, driving down costs, and making space travel a reality
for average--but wealthy--consumers.
Driving this change is the X PRIZE Foundation, a nonprofit
organization that's sponsoring a contest that will award $10
million to the first privately financed team to successfully send
passengers into space. The winner must build a vehicle to transport
three civilians into space (62 miles into suborbit, to be exact),
return them to earth, and complete a second trip within a two-week
period.
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The contest is counting on the ingenuity and spirit of small
companies to make space travel a reality. "We're using the
competition to spark entrepreneurs to look at different ways of
creating vehicles [for cost-effective space travel]," says X
PRIZE's Steven Werner.
This kind of contest has a precedent: It was a contest with a
$25,000 prize that spurred Charles Lindbergh to make his historic
flight.
So far, 15 teams, comprised of aerospace engineers, adventure
travel companies and, yes, rocket scientists, are rising to the
challenge. Some companies are already selling tickets, starting at
around $98,000, for the ride of a lifetime. The X PRIZE Foundation
expects a winner in 2000.
"I've always felt it's only a matter of time until
regular people can go into space," says Werner Zehnder,
president and co-founder of Zegrahm Space Voyages, a Seattle-based
adventure travel company that's entered the race to space.
"The technology is already there, and by getting the private
sector involved, I think we'll finally see it happen."
To those seeking to build the space travel companies of the
future, this is no ordinary entrepreneurial opportunity.
"I'm aware that what we're doing is
groundbreaking," says contestant Michael Kelly, chairman of
the board and chief technology officer of Kelly Space &
Technology Inc. in San Bernardino, California. "It's a
thrill."
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