Former X-Prize Teams Now Pursue Commercial Potential
From the frozen wheatfields of Canada to the Mojave desert to
the vibrant metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, the X-Prize Teams answer
the $10 Million question -- what do you do now that the prize is
over? The answers run the gamut: wither away and die, keep
researching "because it is there," make a move to commercial space
such as space tourism, or enter the X-Prize cup.
Last week AERA, a new company, created a stir among space
watchers when it promised that it would launch space tourists by
2006. Why, how can a new, unproven company get started that quickly
while Mojave Aerospace Ventures, the victorious X-Prize team of
Allen and Rutan, is still reported to be in early stages of
building SpaceShipTwo -- the enlarged, redesigned space tourism
ship that we previously reported?
Aerospace Firm Rolls Out Its New Aerial Tanker This Week
Boeing this week rolls out its KC-767 at the Wichita plant --
the first new aerial refueling tanker design the company has built
in some 50 years. This model goes to the Italian Air Force. But in
the midst of an ongoing scandal investigation by the Pentagon, it's
still up in the air whether the Boeing tanker will fly for the US
Air Force.
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