I first decided to write this paper late in 1995 because it looked like privately-funded manned spaceflight was never going to happen. There has been a lot of talk about the subject with various space development societies promoting their ideas. Ideas, dinners and galas will not put someone in space -- someone has to act.

I first learned of the X-Prize shortly after I sent this paper to various individuals and small rocket companies. There are now 15 officially registered competitors for the X-Prize.

  I met one aerospace engineer who was interested in working on the manned rocket named Joe. Joe came up with a design, introduced me to hybrid rocket motors, and became my mentor. He would design rocket motors on his computer, then go to his garage and cut them out with lathes, drills, saws, and elbow grease. I felt like Luke Skywalker being taught by Obi-Wan Joe the rocket master. I have yet to meet anyone who held the fire and passion from that better vanished time that everyone calls the "glory days" of manned spaceflight. To put it simply Joe is my hero.

Nineteen ninety-seven looked to be Joe’s and Glen’s best year yet. The design of the craft was nearing completion, the skeleton structure was under construction, Joe had the materials to build a thousand-pound thrust motor and had already fired a 100-pound test motor, but there are more things in life more dangerous than experimental manned rockets; Joe was involved in a tragic car wreck during the Christmas holidays. A 3000-foot manned rocket launch has been trivialized by some people as a cheap stunt, but no one yet has accomplished it. The Germans tried in 1933 to launch a man to 3000 feet and their project ended in chaos. Evel Knieval failed to fly over the Snake River Canyon, and others have started manned projects and lost interest.

If a privately funded 3000-foot manned rocket launch was such a cheap stunt, it would have been accomplished by now. What N.A.S.A. and the military have done is great, but they will never let us buy tickets to ride their rockets, but we will pay for them with our taxes.

The X-prize is mankind’s greatest hope to reach the stars. When I first heard about it, it humbled me. I was glad that the future of civilians in space now had a bright new shinning star of hope, but I also felt a little dejected because it was now really hard to sell a low-altitude manned rocket built in a garage and flown by a novice skydiver. But Joe cheered me up and was determined to drive forward with the project hoping to fly our rocket before the aerospace company heavyweights could get their spaceships off the chalkboard. Joe did not believe in leaving anything to chance or fate.

  This is the story of the little rocket that could have -- and still might.