Second private rocket tests successfully

MESQUITE, Texas, June 17 (UPI) -- A Texas rocket builder scored a successful test flight this week in the race to build the world's first private, crewed spacecraft.

Armadillo Aerospace tested prototype hardware for its Black Armadillo rocket, Space.com reported. Armadillo is one group among more than 20 teams from seven nations trying to win the Ansari X Prize.

The $10 million prize will go to the first team that privately finances, builds and launches a craft capable of hauling three individuals up to 62.5 miles (100 kilometers) above the Earth, return them safely, and then repeat the feat within two weeks.

"The flight was perfect," said John Carmack, the company's head, on the company's Web site. "It went 131 feet high, and landed less than one foot from the launch point. It can easily do flights three times as long, which may show up some problems before we hit them with the big vehicle."