The X PRIZE Heritage

Between 1905 and 1935, hundreds of aviation prizes stimulated the advancement of aircraft technology. One of the best-known prizes was The Orteig Prize, a $25,000 purse offered by hotel magnate Raymond Orteig to the first person to fly non-stop between New York and Paris. In 1927, with the whole world watching, Charles Lindbergh won the prize, becoming the most famous person on Earth.

Where no government filled the need and no immediate profit could pay the bill, the Orteig Prize stimulated not one, but nine different attempts to cross the Atlantic. These nine teams cumulatively spent $400,000 to win the $25,000 purse - and spawned today's $250 billion aviation industry.

By taking a smaller, faster approach to aviation, Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis Organization showed that a small professional team could outperform large, government-style efforts. Prior to his flight, the press of the day characterized him as a daredevil and an amateur - "the flying fool." But Lindbergh's meticulously planned single-engine/single-pilot strategy was a radical departure from the conventional thinking of the day, and his innovative thinking and careful preparation won the full support of the Spirit of St. Louis Organization.

A quarter of all Americans personally saw Lindbergh and the
Spirit of St. Louis within a year of his flight - and the world changed with
their excitement:

• Applications for pilot's licenses in the U.S. increased by 300% in 1927.
• The number of licensed aircraft in the U.S. increased by 400% in 1927.
• Most notably, U.S. Airline passengers increased from 5,782 in 1926 to
  173,405 in 1929 - a 30-fold increase!

The cause of the tremendous growth in aviation experienced after 1927 was not due to a technology breakthrough. Lindbergh employed technology that was available years earlier. The growth was a direct result of a monumental change in the public's expectation about flight. Lindbergh's flight created the
expectation that anyone could fly.

The X PRIZE Foundation was founded to create a similar change in the public's
expectation of space flight, and now exists to create similar shifts in the public's perception in future X PRIZE areas.

Our Story

The X PRIZE Foundation is the brainchild of Dr. Peter H. Diamandis who
strongly believes that focused and talented teams in pursuit of a prize and
acclaim can change the world.

In 1994, Gregg E. Maryniak gave Dr. Diamandis a copy of The Spirit of St. Louis, written by Charles Lindbergh. Dr. Diamandis realized that his lifelong dream of traveling into space could be made a reality through the creation of a prize similar to the one Lindbergh was awarded for crossing the Atlantic in an aircraft. In 1995, Diamandis established the X PRIZE Foundation with the assistance of Byron K. Lichtenberg, Colette M. Bevis and Gregg E. Maryniak. The Foundation received early funding from Tom Rogers and John McLucas and was initially headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. The concept of the X PRIZE was first announced in the pages of Ad Astra Magazine (National Space Society).

In early 1996, the St. Louis community - in a return to its roots as
a center of the early aerospace industry - committed to provide additional seed funding to organize the Foundation and became the first headquarters of the X PRIZE Foundation. On May 18th, 1996, under the Arch in St. Louis, in front of a crowd of television cameras, reporters and proud onlookers, the creation of the X PRIZE competition was announced. The X PRIZE Foundation was also proud to have the participation of Erik and Morgan Lindbergh, Charles Lindbergh's grandchildren. Erik Lindbergh remains a member of the X PRIZE Foundation Board of Trustees.

In May 2004, the X PRIZE was officially re-named the Ansari
X PRIZE to reflect the generous multi-million dollar donation from the Ansari
family. Later that same year, on October 4, 2004, the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE was awarded to Mojave Aerospace Ventures for the flight of
SpaceShipOne.

Our story is just beginning. Please join
us on this journey.

The X PRIZE Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
educational organization using competitions to create innovative breakthroughs for the benefit of mankind.