IF THERE is one phrase that describes the emerging entrepreneurial space industry – sometimes called NewSpace – it is “unrealised promise”.
The possibility of low-cost access to space, including trips by ordinary people (albeit with not-so-ordinary bank accounts), has fired the public imagination. Since the media hoopla over the SpaceShipOne flights that snagged the Ansari X Prize three years ago, tens of thousands of people have contacted Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson’s space tourism venture, wondering how to sign up.
And yet, since success of the SpaceShipOne flights, NewSpace has shown little additional progress. Some ventures have suffered technical problems and delays, while…
