Below is a new CNN article about SpaceShipOne. A comparison is drawn to the Shuttle. Will SpaceShipOne ever be a competitor for the Shuttle or will it remain sub-orbital? If nothing else, hopefully it can inspire venture capitalists to support the Rutans in eventually making the Shuttle even more obsolete than it is.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/04/19/space.rocket.ap/index.html

The Rutan breakthrough, Lindberg involvement, and discussion of the X Prize could also give a boost to the competitive prizes concept at NASA. Congress reportedly did NOT kill the prizes language in NASA's 2003 budget (which is documented here: http://www.SpaceProjects.com/prizes ). Naturally the NASA clique doesn't want the competition but Rutan's breakthrough is starting to get some major press coverage.

By the way, has anyone kept up with whether or not DARPA's $1 million grand challenge has lured in many contestants yet for next winter's robotics competition?