Major X PRIZE Web Site update

The X PRIZE Foundation web site has a bunch of updates that are worth checking out, in addition to the updates directly related to the Automotive X PRIZE draft rules release. There's an active ticker of X PRIZE Press releases that, at the moment, has a large number of articles from around the world about the release of the Automotive X PRIZE draft rules. It also has a ticker entry for the recent Space Review article on the Lunar Lander Challenge.

The front page of the web site also has a number of celebrity photos and notes from the X PRIZE fundraiser at Google headquarters.

The site also includes a new section on the 2007 Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. I don't see them yet, but at Space Access '07 Will Pomerantz mentioned that they intend to promote the Lunar Lander Challenge contestant teams more, and they would have sections for the teams on the web site.

The "Judging" section of the Lunar Lander page gives some hints about prizes the Foundation is considering, although it surely all depends on available funding and all sorts of other hurdles. At any rate, the section mentions "In development are the rules for sub-orbital races including fastest time to sub-orbital space and return; highest sub-orbital altitude attained; most passengers carried to sub-orbital altitude and return in a single flight; most passengers carried to sub-orbital flight and return during a fixed time period; fastest turn-around times between sub-orbital flights; and other sub-orbital challenges and design awards. Sub-orbital races will be extended to point-to-point races, eventually between spaceports around the country."