Da Vinci Holds on Planned Manned Flight to Space

September 24, 2004

The Golden Palace.com Space Program Powered by the da Vinci Project announced that it has revised its October 2nd planned flight to space in pursuit of the Ansari X PRIZE.

Contributing factors to this revision were availability of a few key components and their integration into the overall space flight program. The Project will provide public notice of its intended flights as soon as practicable under the auspices of the Ansari X PRIZE, notwithstanding the flight plans of any other competitor.

“The flight insurance for the 2 launches has been secured”, says Brian Feeney, Project Leader. “We’re still a go for launch. We’ve made milestone progress since the early August arrival of our title sponsor, Golden Palace.com and we intend to prove that Canadians can and will put a man into space”.

About the ANSARI X PRIZE Competition

In order to win the ANSARI X PRIZE, teams must build a safe/reusable space vehicle able to carry one pilot and the weight equivalent of two passengers 100km (62 miles) into sub-orbital space. The vehicle must be privately financed and safely launched twice within a two-week period. The first registered ANSARI X PRIZE team to complete this feat will win the $10 million prize and spectacular trophy.

About the X PRIZE Foundation

The X PRIZE Foundation is a not-for-profit educational organization, with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. The Foundation’s ANSARI X PRIZE Competition is supported by its Title Sponsor the Ansari family and its Presenting Sponsor Champ Car World Series. The Foundation is also supported by private donations from the St. Louis Community through the New Spirit of St. Louis Organization. The Foundation's mission is to educate the public about space travel, create educational programming for students and space enthusiasts, and provide incentives in the private sector to make space travel frequent and affordable for the general public. Several additional sponsorships for the ANSARI X PRIZE competition remain available to corporations or individuals who wish to support the contest and associate themselves with courage, determination, achievement, space, speed, high performance and technology.

Source: da Vinci Project