The first privately-funded attempt to rocket a civilian into space will take place in the Californian desert on 21 June. If SpaceShipOne, built by Mojave-based company Scaled Composites, succeeds, it will be in prime position to win the $10 million Ansari X-Prize. The challenge is to fly to an altitude of 100 kilometres, the official start of space. However, the craft will not need to achieve the speeds necessary to enter Earth orbit. To win the X-prize, the craft must repeat the feat twice in two weeks, carrying a pilot and two passengers. SpaceShipOne is already the hot favourite after breaking several records for a private craft on 13 May, including altitude (64,000 metres), speed (Mach 2.5) and rocket engine firing time (55 seconds). To reach space, the craft's rocket engine will need to fire only about 10 seconds longer than in that flight. However, SpaceShipOne's planned flight on 21 June is not an attempt to win. Although it plans to hit the target of 100 kilometres, it will carry only a pilot. Nonetheless, it would be the first private venture to put a human in space. "All space missions so far have been flown only under large, expensive government efforts," says Scaled Composites' Burt Rutan. "The SpaceShipOne flights will change all that and encourage others to usher in a new, low-cost era in space travel." Source: New Scientist