The X PRIZE Foundation · Playa Vista, CA United States

X PRIZE's mission is to boldly go where no one has gone before. The foundation set a $10 million prize for the first privately financed team to build a spaceship able to travel 62 miles (100km) into space two consecutive times within a two week period. Mojave Aerospace Ventures won the ANSARI X prize in October 2004 when its SpaceShipOne craft reached 360,000 feet. X PRIZE plans to organize further annual space vehicle competitions with the goal of jump-starting the space tourism industry, much like what the Orteig Prize (which offered a $25,000 prize to the first person to fly non-stop between New York and Paris in the 1920's) did for air transportation. Chairman Peter Diamandis founded X PRIZE in 1995. To read the full description, subscribe now.