NASA Redefines "Space" After SpaceShipOne Flight

NASA Redefines Boundary of Space After SpaceShipOne Flights

http://www.watleyreview.com/2004/100504-3.html

In an apparent fit of institutional pique following SpaceShipOne's
successful claim on the X-Prize, NASA has unexpectedly raised the
official boundary of space to 150 miles above the Earth's surface.

"Obviously, going into outer space is a major endeavor which really
ought to be left in the hands of our planet's only capable space
agency; namely us," said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "We
congratulate the fine engineering which went into the production of
this novelty plane dubbed 'SpaceShipOne,' but must point out with
regret that it hasn't reached space yet by our standards."

SpaceShipOne is a privately funded, manned rocket ship powered with
laughing gas and rubber fuel built by Scaled Composites. It reached
the edge of suborbital space Monday - nearly 70 miles high - to claim
the $10 million Ansari X Prize, intended to spur private spaceflight.
However, now that NASA has raised the boundary for space, SpaceShipOne
is officially nothing more than a high-flying airplane.

"Well, let me tell you one thing: we're not giving back the prize
money," said SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan. "We owe Paul Allen a
lot of money, and frankly I don't want to mess with someone who's on
Bill Gates' speed-dial list." Billionaire Allen earned his fortune
with Microsoft, and reportedly invested over $20 million in the
SpaceShipOne project.

"That price tag alone should be a warning sign to people," said
O'Keefe. "Twenty million? That would barely cover the cost of the food
on a typical NASA Space Shuttle flight."

NASA has come under heavy criticism recently for continuing to invest
heavily in its aging fleet of Space Shuttles, which are notoriously
expensive to operate and have experienced serious safety problems,
including the loss of two shuttles to accidents.

"It's no coincidence that NASA set the "new" boundary of space just
below the average altitude of typical Space Shuttle flights," said
Rutan. "I would bet that, if we managed to reach an altitude of 150
miles, NASA would raise the boundary to 151."

It is unclear what effect the NASA announcement will have on the
future of SpaceShipOne, or newly-founded company Virgin Galactic's
plans to purchase a fleet of the craft to offer tourists brief visits
to what was formerly considered outer space.

"I think we're going to move ahead with the plans anyway," said Virgin
CEO Richard Branson. "I'll bet that people willing to pay $100,000 for
a 20-minute flight that brings you back to the point you left from
aren't going to be conversant with trivialities such as the legal
definition of space."