Just Like Heathrow But With Space Planes
For commercial space really to get off the ground, all of those rocket pods and space planes will need places to take off and land, but substantial legal ramifications regarding launching humans and cargo into space await resolution before a private version of Kennedy Space Center, Baikonur Cosmodrome or Jiuquan Launch Center can proceed.
Much of the attention in the new space race has been focused on old hands like Lockheed Martin and Boeing, both of whom boast five-decade-long track records building airplanes and spacecraft with NASA [sources: Chang; NASA]. Not surprisingly, the two legacies remain major players.
Lockheed Martin -- which has built every aeroshell flown by NASA to Mars, from Viking to the Curiosity rover -- was responsible for two spacecraft inserted into lunar orbit in January 2012, and is developing the Orion crew capsule for NASA's Space Launch System [source: Lockheed Martin].
In October 2011, Boeing signed a 15-year lease to use a space shuttle hangar at Kennedy Space Center to build and oversee its Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) spacecraft. NASA has funded the ship via its Commercial Crew Development program to the tune of $110 million.
Meanwhile, United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, continues to build Atlas V rockets, the platform on which several commercial ventures plan to launch their space planes or crew capsules. The mainstay rocket all but guarantees United Launch Alliance a future place at the table.
The question is, will such strong ties to the old guard -- and the old school -- help carry the companies to the stars, or strap them to a sinking ship?
To help answer that, let's look at how another old government sector workhorse has changed with the times: by spawning a yearling space company.
Start the Countdown |
10: The X Prize and Other Awards |
9: Bigelow Aerospace |
8: The Ultrawealthy |
7: Virgin Galactic |
6: Governments and Space Agencies |
5: Blue Origin |
4: Lockheed Martin, Boeing and United Launch Alliance |
3: Sierra Nevada Space Systems |
2: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) |
1: Orbital Sciences Corp. |
Up Next |
