SPACE-chaser Steve Bennett has gone back to the drawing board to redesign his manned rocket.

Steve and his team at Starchaser Industries have been racing to launch their rocket to the edge of space.

This is part of their bid to become the first non-government organisation to reach space and win the $10million X Prize.

To win the X Prize, the team have to launch their craft - including a pilot and two passengers - to a height of 100 kilometres. And they have to do it twice.

Several teams around the world are already competing for the prize.

Earlier this year, the Starchaser team estimated that the three-seater Thunderbird rocket could be less than 18 months away from becoming a reality.

Powerful

But now they believe the plans are more complex than they need to be and they've come up with the design for a simpler craft that can be built quicker and more cheaply.

Starchaser engineers reckon the Thunderbird engines were so powerful they could take six people into space instead of just three or even go into orbit.

So instead of having up to nine engines, the new Thunderstar rocket will have just two, reducing the risk of any problems.

Starchaser spokesman Tony Meadows said: "The Thunderbird was over-engineered, so with what we have learned about propulsion, we have made some real advances.

"We had to simplify the design to keep ourselves in the running.

"Now Thunderstar is a much simpler rocket, therefore it can be built a lot quicker and will be more efficient, so there's a lot less testing to be done."

The Thunderbird design will be modified for space tourism and other applications after the team compete for the X Prize.

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