THE mood in Mojave, California, after the first private spaceship launch was one of celebration of an extraordinary feat by a few brave, talented and dedicated people. Elsewhere cynics wrote it off as little more than a fairground sideshow. So which is it? Will it really change the future of space travel, and if so how?
SpaceShipOne’s flight was, it is true, a journey only to the edge of space. To orbit the Earth or to reach outer space proper would have demanded an order of magnitude greater speed, heat shielding and plenty more fuel. But Burt Rutan, the craft’s designer, has already said he intends…
