Sometimes Close Does Count
The X Prize is working to establish a second-place prize to encourage teams to keep working after the contest has been won (the money could also be used as the primary prize in case the contest is not one before the Jan. 1, 2005 deadline, though organizers say that's unlikely). From everything I've read, they might could encourage more competition by establishing a third-place prize instead of one for second place. It sounds much like there's a race for first place between two front-runners, and a race for third-place among everyone else. It sounds pretty likely that second place will just go to whoever doesn't win first place--Scaled Composites or Armadillo Aerospace.

:: :: 08:11 :: David :: [permalink] ::