OUT OF THIS WORLD CANADIAN TEAM TO MAKE BID FOR SPACE FLIGHT PRIZE OCT. 2.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

MOJAVE - A Canadian team competing for a $10 million prize for private space flight announced Thursday it plans to fly its rocket Oct. 2, just three days after Mojave's Burt Rutan plans to begin his bid for the purse.

The da Vinci Project announced its space flight plans for the Ansari X Prize at the Toronto rollout of its spacecraft, called Wild Fire - a rocket that will be carried aloft above Saskatchewan by a helium ballon, then ignited to zoom into space.

``The da Vinci Project is on the cusp of a new era of space travel for humankind,'' pilot Brian Feeney said in an announcement. ``Our team is proof positive that ingenuity and innovation can overcome the impossible.''

The team is finalizing construction of the rocket as well as working out logistical details related to the launch, which will be held in Kindersley, Saskatchewan.

To capture the $10 million Ansari X Prize, a spacecraft must be privately financed and privately built, must make at least two flights above 100 kilometers - 62 miles - within two weeks, and must do it carrying a pilot and two passengers or a weight equivalent to two passengers.

The da Vinci Project team did not disclose when it would attempt the second flight to capture the prize.

Last month, Rutan announced his SpaceShipOne rocket plane will make three spaceflights Sept. 29 through Oct. 13 from Mojave. The second SpaceShipOne flight could come as early as Oct. 4, the 47th anniversary of Sputnik's becoming the first satellite in orbit.

``With two Ansari X Prize teams launching within days of each other for the $10 million prize, we truly have a remarkable race for space,'' said Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and founder of the X Prize Foundation.

For its flight, the Wild Fire rocket will be carried to 80,000 feet by a helium balloon. The rocket's engine is expected to fire and power it into space, reaching about 2,670 mph.

For the return, the capsule section will separate from the propulsion section, and parachutes will lower both sections to the ground to be used again.

The da Vinci Project's Wild Fire has been built by 500 volunteers, who have put in more than 150,000 man-hours. Feeney described his spacecraft as the largest volunteer technology project in Canada.

On June 21, SpaceShipOne became the first private manned craft to reach space, flying to just above 100 kilometers. For the feat, SpaceShipOne pilot Mike Melvill was awarded astronaut wings by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Rutan has not yet disclosed who will be the pilot, or pilots, for the SpaceShipOne flights.

The SpaceShipOne flights will be conducted out of Mojave Airport. The flights will be open to the public.

Parking passes for the Sept. 29 to Oct. 13 flights at Mojave Airport can be purchased on the X Prize Foundation Web site at www.xprize.org. The cost is $35 per car or $100 per recreational vehicle and covers all the Mojave X Prize flights. Preferred parking passes are $100 per car.

The Ansari X Prize is aimed at spurring development of privately funded spacecraft and at opening space up to ordinary people, much as the Orteig Prize won by Charles Lindbergh for flying solo across the Atlantic in 1927 spurred commercial aviation.

Jim Skeen, [phone]

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com