possible x prize stage 2 contender

[tom d. friedman]

rutan made the history books, got the 10$$$$$ million, now stage two. one of his competitors is taking old lear jet airframes & modifying them to take the rigors / stress of space & high altitude while accomodating the number of passengers required to safely take a specific number of passengers up for another mega million $$$$ prize. i don't think that one of the stipulations is a complete orbit of the globe, but i could be wrong. saw the story in a recent "ga" general aviation magazine issue. those air frames are old, 60's vintage at least, i don't trust their structural integrity, but who am i???? certainly no scientist entrepenuer. the short of it is as follows....... turbo fan propulsion to 50 thousand or so feet, flick on the ole bic lighter & ignite the rocket engine to the upper atmosphere for 4 minutes of weightlessness or something like that, hopefully survive & laugh your way to the bank. for me the requirements are X 1000 + a good life insurance policy. best, tom