How much prize money did the Ansari X Prize award for the first privately funded human spaceflight?
Answer
10 million dollars
Answer
10 million dollars
The Ansari X Prize awarded 10 million dollars for the first privately funded human spaceflight.
The competition required a privately financed, reusable crewed spacecraft to reach at least 100 kilometres twice within a specified period. SpaceShipOne met the requirements in 2004, with Mike Melvill flying the first qualifying flight and Brian Binnie piloting the second.
The prize was originally called the X Prize and received major backing from Anousheh Ansari and her family, after whom it was renamed. The award was presented to the SpaceShipOne team on October 4, 2004.
The competition was inspired partly by the role of prizes in encouraging technological breakthroughs. It helped demonstrate that non-government organizations could develop crewed spacecraft, although it did not create an orbital vehicle. Suborbital spaceflight and orbital spaceflight remain technically different achievements.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026