The prize is being offered for the first privately developed, three-seat spacecraft to soar beyond an altitude of 62 miles and repeat the feat within two weeks.

SpaceShipOne flew to that altitude in a test flight last month from Mojave, Calif., after being carried to its launch altitude of 50,000 feet under the belly of a Rutan-designed airplane, the jet-powered White Knight.

Rutan said he plans a qualifying launch on Sept. 29 followed by the second flight as early as Oct. 4.

At a news conference at Santa Monica Airport, Rutan said he plans to be capable of making three flights within the two-week period in case one flight fails to reach the required altitude.

The pilot has not been selected.

Rutan said the first flight will carry only the pilot but he did not rule out passengers for the subsequent attempt.

"I really do want to fly passengers in this ship," he said.

Backers of a Canadian effort called the Da Vinci Project announced that their spacecraft will roll out next week in Toronto and they intend to begin flying sometime in the fall.

A total of 26 teams in seven countries are developing spacecraft to compete for the X Prize, which is sponsored by the privately funded X Prize Foundation in St. Louis.

The SpaceShipOne project is bankrolled by billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who is spending more than $20 million.

The three-seat requirement demonstrates the capacity for paying customers; the quick turnaround between flights demonstrates reusability and reliability.

Although SpaceShipOne's June flight appeared to go flawlessly, Rutan revealed afterward that there was a serious malfunction in the trim system, used to adjust stability and steering, causing it to miss its atmospheric re-entry point by 22 miles. Hitting the re-entry point is important because after the rocket motor shuts down the plane becomes a powerless glider and cannot simply fly to its destination.

Rutan and his Scaled Composites development company gained wide fame by building the lightweight, propeller-driven Voyager aircraft, which flew around the world nonstop without refueling in 1986.

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