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The Wirefly X PRIZE Cup is the result of a partnership between the X PRIZE Foundation and the State of New Mexico that began in 2004 with plans to build the world's first true rocket festival. Now entering its third year, the Cup is an annual two-day Air & Space Expo and the premier destination for space enthusiasts worldwide. The 2006 Wirefly X PRIZE Cup was held on October 20-21 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and represented the latest effort by the X PRIZE Foundation to continue encouraging innovation in the private sector [1]. The 2006 Wirefly X PRIZE Cup focused on rocketry and lunar landing technology, offering up $2.5 million in prizes to teams competing in several distinct competitions related to the general theme. The exposition also featured high-powered rocket launches and exhibits intended to boost public interest in aerospace technology. In December of 2006, the Cup's organizers announced expansion plans based on the success of the October event [2].
The official Wirefly X PRIZE Cup site contains news and information relating to the upcoming 2007 Wirefly X PRIZE Cup to be held at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, NM, October 27 & 28th from 10am to 5pm. The 2007 Wirefly X PRIZE Cup will also mark the rebirth of the Teacher in Space Project. At the 2007 event, the Space Frontier Foundation and the United States Rocket Academy will announce the rules and begin accepting applications for first Teacher in Space "pathfinder" competition. The competition will select the first teacher to fly in space on a suborbital vehicle, part of a program that may eventually include thousands of teachers.
The original Ansari X PRIZE was a US$10,000,000 prize, offered by the X PRIZE Foundation, for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. It was modeled after early 20th-century aviation prizes, and aimed to spur development of low-cost spaceflight. The prize was won on October 4, 2004, the 47th anniversary of the Sputnik 1 launch, by the Tier One project using the experimental spaceplane SpaceShipOne.
