Private Spaceflight is defined as a flight above 100km conducted by an entity other than a government. Government organizations have driven the industry but the major problem with spaceflight is funding. NASA is funded by taxpayers and makes no profit. Imagine the endless possibilities of commercialized spaceflight. Cash flows would enable more R&D, materializing as new innovations and industry growth.
This is one of the key points of Burt Rutan’s presentation (Feb 2006, Monterrey, CA). Rutan is a legendary spacecraft designer who won the $10M Ansari X-Prize for SpaceShipOne and is now collaborating with Virgin Galactic to build the first rocket-ship for space.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic (check out the promo video) is among the leading players. The company’s SpaceShipTwo is expected to start launching in late 2007 and commercial operations should start by 2009 with a price tag of $200,000 per passenger. Time Magazine published an extensive article about Branson and Virgin Galactic last week (really good overview of the renaissance period of space exploration).
Conceptual SpaceShipTwo flight
SpaceShipTwo interior mockup
The field is quite crowded with most of the companies operating in the US. Unlike Virgin Galactic’s two-stage launch system, Benson Space Company’s Dream Chaser is based on simple vertical takeoff and is targeted to launch by the end of 2008. Other major players include Blue Origin (financed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos), Rocketplane Kistler, Armadillo Aerospace & XCOR Aerospace to name a few.
New Shepard’s (Blue Origin) test flight on November 13, 2006
If interested in the latest private spaceflight news Space Liberates Us! forum is a nice one to follow (only a couple updates per week).
When speaking of which company is “leading” the new race to space, the term should be defined. For example, it is clear that Virgin Galactic is leading in terms of in-your-face public relations, but it is not so clear who is technically in the lead.
I believe Benson Space Company and our elegantly simple and practical spaceship, from a NASA design (the HL-20 Personnel Launch System), is hands down technically the easiest. With a simple vertical takeoff and no two hour circling out of sight of those on the ground, the Dream Chaser will provide both a spectacular ride and also a great viewing event for nearby spectators.
I believe Benson Space with its Dream Chaser will be first to market with the safest, lowest cost astronaut-making commercial suborbital space rides. In addition, our vehicle is designed for orbital use, unlike the very limited competition from other “serious” players.
Onward and upward,
Jim Benson
Benson Space Company
http://www.BensonSpace.com
http://www.FreeTripToSpace.com
Thanks for the info. I made a few changes to the original post. Let’s wait for the testing of the new spacecrafts to start.
-martti