H8376 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE October 6, 2004 owners of a fractionated parcel on decisions to returning safely to Earth, and repeating the SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan and lease the land. Consolidating the land has the launch with the same ship within 2 weeks; sponsor Paul Allen, have nonetheless effect of putting the land into more productive Whereas the Ansari X Prize inspired 26 crossed a critical frontier. They have teams from 7 nations to invest their private use. accepted and exceeded the X Prize funds and personal toil in pursuit of the Foundation’s challenge, proving that According to the Department of the Interior, dream of private space flight; just to keep fractionation from getting worse at Whereas Mojave Aerospace Ventures, led commercial space transportation is present, it would have to spend $250 million by aviation pioneer Burt Rutan and software viable and that space and its explo- per year in buy-backs to maintain the current pioneer Paul Allen, designed and developed ration and utilization will not be the number of fractionated interests stable. The SpaceShipOne, the winning entry in the sole arena of government, but is also Department of Interior has said that if it can Ansari X Prize competition; open to the private sector and to pri- get the ‘‘single heir rule’’ in place by passing Whereas on June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne, vate individuals and private compa- S.1721, it will be much more aggressive in the piloted by Mike Melvill, accomplished the nies. first privately funded suborbital flight into The achievement of Mojave Aero- buy-back program, which is why it wants the space in the skies above Mojave, California; authorization levels provided in the bill. The space will no doubt spur more entrepre- Whereas on September 29, 2004, neurial space ventures and inspire aggressive buy-back will lower the number SpaceShipOne, once again piloted by Mike other dreamers to become doers. fractionated interests over time. Melvill, successfully completed the first of 2 Burt Rutan’s design for This is probably the most important bill re- suborbital flights in pursuit of the Ansari X SpaceShipOne has been said to echo garding Native Americans to be passed in this Prize competition, flying to an altitude of 337,600 feet (102.9 km); and that of the X–15, an experimental Cold Congress. I thank my colleagues on the War rocket plane like SpaceShipOne. It House Resources Committee and the Senate Whereas on October 4, 2004, SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, successfully com- was launched in flight from a larger Indians Affairs Committee for their diligence to pleted the second of 2 suborbital flights in aircraft. It is not only Burt Rutan’s el- work to address this problem. pursuit of the Ansari X Prize less than one egant design, however, that reminds us Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I week later, flying to an altitude of 368,000 of another time. The spirit of his team yield back the balance of my time. feet (112.2 km), and thereby winning the and the X Prize competition recalls the Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I yield Ansari X Prize competition: Now, therefore, spirit of the early years of our Nation’s back the balance of my time. be it Resolved, That the House of Representa- space race. It recalls the Charles Lind- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bergh trans-Atlantic flight which was question is on the motion offered by tives— (1) congratulates Mojave Aerospace Ven- also the result of a prize that was of- the gentleman from California (Mr. tures, led by Burt Rutan and Paul Allen, for fered for the first accomplishment. POMBO) that the House suspend the winning the privately funded $10,000,000 That accomplishment was, of course, rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1721. Ansari X Prize and inspiring the next gen- the first nonstop trip from New York The question was taken; and (two- eration of space explorers to even greater to Paris. thirds having voted in favor thereof) heights; the rules were suspended and the Sen- (2) commends the pilots of SpaceShipOne b 0130 ate bill was passed. for their skill and bravery; and It also reminds us of Chuck Yeager, A motion to reconsider was laid on (3) commends the founders of, contributors and others like Chuck Yeager, who to, and management of the X Prize Founda- the table. broke the records of the sound barrier tion for spurring this achievement. and other records in flight. It reminds f The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- us of these other moments when these GENERAL LEAVE ant to the rule, the gentleman from other barriers were broken and that Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I ask California (Mr. ROHRABACHER) and the new opportunities were created in the unanimous consent that all Members gentleman from Texas (Mr. LAMPSON) accomplishment. may have 5 legislative days within each will control 20 minutes. This spirit of exploration, this drive which to revise and extend their re- The Chair recognizes the gentleman to push the limits of technology and marks and include extraneous material from California (Mr. ROHRABACHER). endurance, is a signature of the Amer- on S. 1791, S. 2511, S. 2178, S. 211 and S. GENERAL LEAVE ican experience; that human flight into 1721. Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I space, we now can say, is no longer the The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there ask unanimous consent that all Mem- arena only of government and only the objection to the request of the gen- bers may have 5 legislative days within purview of companies that are directly tleman from California? which to revise and extend their re- financed by government, but now is There was no objection. marks and include extraneous material open to private individuals and private companies and private enterprise and f on H. Res. 820. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there individual enterprise. CONGRATULATING MOJAVE AERO- objection to the request of the gen- The X Prize awakens us to this spirit SPACE VENTURE FOR WINNING tleman from California? with a new generation of explorers. It THE ANSARI X PRIZE There was no objection. awakens the spirit in students who will study science and math and engineer- Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I ing, as well as those who have been in- move to suspend the rules and agree to yield myself such time as I may con- spired toward bold innovations in other sume. the resolution (H. Res. 820) to con- fields. Like Melvill, Binnie and Rutan, Mr. Speaker, there are two kind of gratulate Mojave Aerospace Ventures and the Mojave Aerospace Ventures, frontiers. There are physical frontiers: for winning the privately funded their team, these new explorers, will uncharted land, unseen depths of $10,000,000 Ansari X Prize and commend inspire the dreamers and give them the X Prize Foundation for spurring oceans, unexplored space. And then courage and determination to turn this achievement, as amended. there are frontiers of imagination: their dreams into reality. The Clerk read as follows: frontiers that require us to think a new Today, we honor the winners of the X H. RES. 820 way, to have a vision beyond what oth- Prize for their victory and for com- Whereas the Ansari X Prize competition ers see, to question assumptions about pleting the first privately funded, was created to promote the emerging com- what is technologically possible. human, suborbital space flight. We also mercial space transportation industry and Today, we honor Mojave Aerospace commend the X Prize Foundation and inspire a new generation of explorers by ac- Ventures’ SpaceShipOne, the winner of the 25 other teams who vied for the celerating the development of low-cost space the X Prize for traversing this second prize. We look forward to watching launch vehicles for space exploration, tour- kind of frontier. commercial space transportation to ism, science, and commerce; Suborbital space is not a new des- continue to develop, engaging new in- Whereas the X Prize Foundation, headed tination. Brian Binnie and Mike by space entrepreneur Dr. Peter Diamandis, vestors and engineers, scientists and offered a $10,000,000 prize to the first contest- Melvill, the pilots of SpaceShipOne, did pilots in the business of exploration. ant to privately finance, develop, and launch not fly higher, farther or longer than This X Prize concept of offering a re- a spaceship capable of carrying 3 people to the astronauts who came before them, ward for an achievement, a techno- 100 kilometers (62.5 miles) above the Earth, yet Brian and Mike, together with logical achievement, is not a time that VerDate jul 14 2003 03:46 Oct 08, 2004 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A06OC7.161 H06PT2 October 6, 2004 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H8377 is past. What we have seen, through sume. I have no other requests to jave Aerospace Ventures on winning the this accomplishment by Mojave Aero- speak, and I have just one last thought. Ansari X Prize competition. space, is that this may be a vehicle to I believe that the investor invested On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville achieve new goals in space, and we will $26 million in this project. We have no Wright made the first sustained, controlled, be looking into this. Hopefully, it will doubt that, if this project was just a powered flight of an airplane at Kitty Hawk, encourage further achievements that government-funded project, that it NC. Now, a little over a century later Mojave will help the United States and all of probably would have been in the hun- Aerospace Ventures has followed in the foot- humankind set new records and push dreds of millions of dollars.