Three New Teams Join $10M Competition - Total Now 27 Teams from Seven Nations

With flight tests, engine firings and hardware roll outs occurring on a weekly basis, the pace of the X PRIZE New Race to Space has hit an all-time high. Wednesday, people all over the planet will celebrate the accomplishments of the Wright Brothers. This 100-year anniversary is a time of reflection and appreciation for many; to the 27 X PRIZE Teams competing to become the first private astronauts, it is a special source of inspiration.

Three new teams have joined the X PRIZE Competition in past month. Space Transport Corporation (WA), High Altitude Research Corporation (HARC) from Huntsville (AL) and Blue Ridge Nebula Airlines based outside of Denver (CO).

"Less than 450 astronauts and only a handful of piloted space vehicles have flown during the past 42 years," says Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and Founder of the X PRIZE. "It is our intention that the X PRIZE usher in a Golden Age of spaceflight creating thousands of private astronauts flying aboard dozens of privately owned and operated spaceships."

Due to the recent flurry of activity and overwhelming volume of new information the X PRIZE Foundation has produced a 2003 X PRIZE Year-end Report to highlight the many developments that will drive the next 100 years of human exploration.

FMI: http://www.xprize.org