[FPSPACE] Study backs COTS

[David Anderman]

This paragraph is both incorrect and internally inconsistent.

There is little doubt that, barring catastrophic 
bad luck, there will likely be some sort of 
suborbital tourism market in the next few years. 
And given that the current participants all 
attribute the X-Prize as a key catalyst, it would 
take elaborate sophistry to argue that the 
X-Prize failed in its intent of spurring 
development of passenger spacecraft. Especially 
given the reality that, well, passenger spacecraft are being developed.

DWA


At 10:47 AM 2/12/2007, Matula, Thomas L. wrote:
>If the X-Prize was supposed to start a 
>sub-orbital tourist industry it appears to have 
>failed. Today there are only three viable firms, 
>Blue Origins that has had nothing to do with the 
>X-Prize, Virgin Galactic which may commericalize 
>Burt Rutan’s airframe design and 
>Kistler/Rocketplane, which is being swallowed by 
>its COTS commitments (BTW alt.space advocates 
>have been strangely quiet on how Kistler has 
>brought in ATK who is building the Ares I as 
>their lead contractor for COTS
). All have dates 
>for the first passenger flights that are receding into the future.