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A crowd of around 15,000 attended the first X PRIZE
Cup
Expo event in Las Cruces, NM.
The first X
PRIZE Cup Expo took place in Las Cruces, New Mexico
on October 9th, 2005. Around 15,000 people attended
the one day event, which is intended to be just the
first of an annual rocket show that will include rocket
flight competitions plus exhibitions of privately developed
rocket and space projects.
This Expo was the culmination of a week
long program that was formally referred to as the
Countdown to the X PRIZE Cup. Next year's XP
Cup will begin the actual competitions for prizes among
rocket flight contestants. The first Rocket
Racing League event is expected to occur next year.
Peter Diamandis and other organizers of the X PRIZE
want the Cup to build on the momentum created by the
successful X
PRIZE project. They want the Cup to provide encouragement
and incentives for the development of private, commercial
rocket vehicles. Though the event involves only suborbital
flight, it is believed that the technology and operational
advancements arising from this activity will eventually
lead to much lower cost for access to orbit.
The Expo this year included exhibits from more than
a dozen private rocket vehicle developers. Two of these
(XCOR and Armadillo Aerospace) carried out demonstration
flights.
Below I link to reports about the XP Cup posted on
the HobbySpace
- RLV & Space Transport News weblog. I also
include links to a sample of other reports on the event.
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