The grand prize is a suborbital trip to the fringe of space, on a yet-to-be-flown craft that's based on SpaceShipOne technology. Why SpaceShipOne? Because the giveaway deal is being put together through the auspices of the X Prize Foundation.

It would be up to SpaceShipOne's team at Mojave Aerospace Ventures to make sure the seat is open on a spaceship that has licensed the SS1 technology. For now, the obvious candidate is Virgin Galactic, the only known licensee, but the agreement could also be fulfilled by "someone else who licensed the technology," Diamandis said.

Hmm. What happens if there are multiple licensees, which would be allowed under Virgin Galactic's non-exclusive agreement with Mojave Aerospace Ventures? "I have no idea," Diamandis said.

If no one can make good on the ticket by the end of 2009, the winner would just get $300,000 in cash.

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Originally posted by Dr Love
Give me the 300k. Like I've said before, something will go wrong with those flights. People in power can't afford to have ever increasing amounts of private citizens flying in to sub-orbit seeing strange things and then coming back to Earth running their mouths to all their friends about what they saw. Bank on it!