...And The Nation's Highest Office.

X-Prize Staff were astounded and delighted by two unexpected events. The first: Google, the popular search service, featured SpaceShipOne on their website's sole graphic. Google often uses the graphic to make a gentle commentary on current events. The graphic is named xprize.gif and if you mouse over it on the google.com website, it displays the alt-text message "Congratulations SpaceShipOne."

X-Prize staffers quickly spread the word that Google had displayed the graphic, and they raced to computers to see for themselves -- and many of them, to download the prized but ephemeral graphic.

"No WAY!" one young staffer shouted in astonished excitement.

"Way," another replied. Then they wanted to save the file.

(Aero-News advice: On a PC, right click and select "save as..." to save the image. On a Mac, option-click and choose "save image..." and if you are running Linux you don't need any advice)

But the congratulations didn't end there. A grateful and  happy Dr. Peter Diamandis received a telephone call from another flying machine entirely -- Air Force One. President Bush called to congratulate Diamandis on the successful conclusion of the X-Prize competition.

(It seems redundant to add Aero-News's congratulations to such august company, but we'll do so anyway: Congratulations to Dr. Diamandis and his X-Prize team for a well-run, inspirational competition, and congratulations to Burt Rutan and his team. As we like to say when things are especially cool around here -- we're all a-giggle. --ed.)

FMI: www.x-prize.org, www.scaled.com, www.aero-news.net