The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Paul Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft, has over the last several years spent twenty million dollars to make ten million. It doesn't really sound like a good investment, but his money is already paying off other dividends. Allen, and the rest of his crew successfully proved last week that it is possible for a commercial venture to send three people to the edge of space, return them safely, and then repeat the feat in the same vehicle in less then ten days. This was the idea behind the Ansari X Prize, an international competition which Allen's team captured with their achievement. The X Prize was first announced several years ago as a competition in the same spirit as that which drove Charles Lindbergh to fly the Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic Ocean in the early years of the twentieth century. The competition was about opening up space travel to average people; taking the monopoly out of the hands of the government agencies around the globe who have always set the research agenda. The X Prize competition meant to make space travel commonplace and open. Two Canadian teams were entered in the competition, one of them being a front runner up to the beginning of the summer. Since that time, the Da Vinci project has faced considerable trouble. The team was renamed Golden Palace.com after the online casino when they faced money troubles. They also have had difficulties with their engines and their equipment. Since the beginning of summer their hopes have faded and Allen's team was able to accomplish the goal of the competition first. A few short weeks before their award winning flights, Allen's team announced they had signed an agreement with the charismatic leader of the Virgin group of companies, Richard Branson. Branson is well known in Europe for chasing ideas around the globe with his pockets filled with cash. Branson has licensed the technology which made SpaceShipOne possible for a new company he is calling Virgin Galactic. Already sporting a new website at www.virgingalactic.com, this company will begin taking people to the edge of space as tourists and for an experience of weightlessness. According to their website, Virgin plans on beginning flights within two-and-a-half to three years. It is anticipated of course that these flights will be ultra-luxurious, possibly involving them picking you up in their private jet and whisking you off to a space port/resort where you will undergo six days of medical tests and training before being allowed through the atmosphere. Later, this same technology could be used to dramatically increase the speed of air travel. Imagine how much time could be saved on long haul international flights by being able to fly up to the edge of space and then basically dropping down towards your destination. As Albert Einstein once said, "Genius is one per cent inspiration, and 99 per cent perspiration." The ability to innovate, dream, and plan the future is getting to be as important of a commodity in our society as any other skill. People like Paul Allen and Richard Branson are once again proving that all tasks are possible if we put our minds to them. ([email protected])
