Kids skip school to see XPrize flight

Garin Kessler and Anthony Stack admitted they skipped school last month. But, they insist it was in a good cause. They watched a team of private space scientists win the $10 million XPrize.

Anthony and Garin, along with Garin's older sister, Emma, were at the St. Louis Science Center's Mission Control on Monday, Oct. 4. That center received broadcasts directly from the Mojave Dessert in California where the space flight took place.

St. Louis is the headquarters of the XPrize competition. The winner earns $10 million for being the first company to prove the feasibility of private space travel.

Anthony Stack

The spacecraft had to go at least 62 miles into space twice within a two-week period.

Actually, SpaceShip One made the second successful trip only five days after the first. That flight was on September 29, also from the Mojave airfield.

Thirteen-year-old Anthony is an 8^th grader at Wydown Middle School in Clayton.

He termed the space flight as "amazing." He added, "This is a turning point in history."

Actually, Anthony got a special bonus. His mother was a friend of one of the technicians at the local Mission Control. He got to put on earphones and listen directly to the Mojave Mission Control talking to SpaceShip One's pilot during the flight.

Garin Kessler

He said the people were talking in an abbreviated "space code." But, he did hear them mention something about St. Louis during the conversation.

He said there were two parts of the actual flight that intrigued him. One was the point where SpaceShip One separated from the White Knight aircraft at 46,000 feet. It took about an hour for White Knight to carry the rocket ship to that altitude.

But, once free, Spaceship One rocketed to its final height of nearly 368,000 feet in just another l ½ minutes. Actually, the rocket shut off after just a minute and the spacecraft "coasted" the rest of the way to its highest point in space.

The second part of the flight that Anthony really liked was the fact the craft didn't need a heat shield to return to earth. Unlike NASA's spacecraft, SpaceShip One floated down without building up the tremendous heat of the Challenger spacecraft.

Thirteen-year-old Garin is a 7^th grader at Mary Institute-Country Day School. He said he was only skipping school for half a day. "I'm going back for the 2nd half and for football practice," he said.

Emma Kessler

He said the most interesting part of the XPrize competition was how the space flight was financed. "I liked the fact that this wasn't financed or administrated by NASA," he said.

He said his special interest in science is in space exploration. He said one science project in school involved building a model "room" in a shoebox. He then wired the "room" so it included a miniature TV set, a computer and electric lights.

Garin's sister, 17-year-old Emma, is a junior at Kirkwood High School. She said she didn't consider her attendance at the XPrize broadcast as skipping school.

"It's kind of like we're not playing hooky because we're learning something," she said.

She also liked the private-funding aspect of SpaceShip One's flight. "I liked that someone could build something without NASA and could still accomplish flight," she said.

Emma said she's been interested for a long time in astrobiology. That's a study of how living things adapt to space. She said she's done several Science Fair projects involving both biology and space.

None of the kids had watched the first successful space flight by SpaceShip One. It was also available to the public in the Science Center's Mission Control.

The next step in the XPrize will be awarding of the trophy and the check for $10 million.

SpaceShip One

Doug King is the head of the St. Louis Science Center. After the second flight was completed, he announced the award ceremony. It will be held Saturday, Nov. 6, at the Science Center.

Winning of the XPrize is a big deal.

Richard Branson, a British billionaire, has pledged $100 million to build a commercial space vehicle based on the XPrize design. He said he expects to offer space flights to private citizens within two years.

However, the price tag might be a little steep for most. He said flight tickets would be $190,000 each.

Branson was in one of the "chase" planes that followed SpaceShip One on its landing approach. The "chase" planes were checking to make sure the spacecraft didn't have any damage that might hamper a safe landing.

The audience at Science Center Mission Control clapped loudly when the craft landed. And the Science Center served alcohol-free champagne so they could toast the flight.