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In an alternate universe, Rocketplane would be flying passenger spaceships by now … but in this universe, the company has declared bankruptcy, after receiving millions of dollars in NASA cash and Oklahoma tax credits.
Four years ago, one of Rocketplane's subsidiaries was in line to get more than $200 million from the space agency to develop a K-1 reusable launch vehicle to service the International Space Station. But when the company couldn't put its financing together in time, NASA dropped Rocketplane and allocated the rest of the budgeted money for Orbital Sciences Corp.
Rocketplane Kistler had already been given more than $32 million but didn't have to pay any of that money back to NASA. The company also received nearly $18 million in transferable tax credits from Oklahoma to locate its flight operations at the state's spaceport, a converted Air Force base near Burns Flat. Those credits were transferred years ago to generate capital for the company.
Even after the NASA-backed Kistler project fizzled, another subsidiary called Rocketplane Global kept working on a suborbital rocket-jet hybrid plane that would have lofted paying passengers above the 62-mile (100-kilometer) altitude mark, giving them a taste of weightlessness and a fantastic view in the process for a $250,000 fare. Last year, Rocketplane Global was working on a deal that would have put a space tourist hub in Hawaii. And this April, the company was talking about a potential tourist operation in Florida.
Now the Oklahoma Gazette reports that Rocketplane's owner, George French, has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy papers in his home state of Wisconsin, covering Rocketplane as well as the Kistler and Global subsidiaries. French is also filing for personal bankruptcy. The documents show assets ranging from $108,000 to $287,000, and liabilities of more than $8 million.
The Chapter 7 bankruptcy process would lead to the liquidation of Rocketplane's assets - and the death of the company's outer-space dreams. "We didn't leave a nickel on the table," the Gazette quotes French as saying. "We did what we said we could do. Unfortunately, we did not complete the program as originally conceived."
Rocketplane's exit still leaves lots of companies in the entrepreneurial space race, including Orbital as well as California-based SpaceX, which notched a successful orbital test flight of its Falcon 9 rocket last month; Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites, which are working together on captive-carry tests of the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane; XCOR Aerospace, which is building its own suborbital rocket plane; Bigelow Aerospace, which has launched two prototype space modules into orbit; and Blue Origin, the space venture backed by Amazon.com billionaire Jeff Bezos.
Armadillo Aerospace and Masten Space Systems, which shared NASA-backed prizes in last year's Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, are also in the running. Who'll turn out to be the big winners? Will there be more losers as well? Feel free to handicap the new space race in your comments below.
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We need a reusable orbital vehicle. Period. A six place capsule on a throwaway stack is a glorified Soyuz TM which we could pay the Russians to use. Why do we need what we already have access to. Some sort of national pride inferiority complex? The Air Force has a reusable vehicle in orbit right now. I betcha it costs a lot less to man rate this vehicle than continue on the Constellation capsule.
I don't think its a void of national pride. I think the Venturestar program failed and it set us back...the Constellation Program failed and is setting us back.
But I do have to ask why no one seems to be making the connection between this new/old Air Force vehicle as a means to wean ourselves from Russian uses. It just seems so obvious...
Right, Gaetano. A 'paper' vehicle, that EADS Astrium gave up on because no one was willing to lay out the 1 billion Euro/1.4 billion USD that they estimate it would cost to develop...
http://www.newspacejournal.com/2009/03/26/what-does-astriums-decision-mean-for-suborbital-spaceflight/
...is somehow superior to hardware that's undergoing captive carry flights right now?
What exactly would that additional R&D money have bought, other than name recognition that's hardly better than Scaled Composites (which has already flown a successful prototype, and marketed other aircraft)?
And yes, its first user is footing much of the bill. So?
How sad!
I had hoped that they would get there.
First things first. Where's my hovercar?
I think Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites are the only two companies with the money and experiance to get the job done.
Once they've successfully gotten the civilian spaceflight industry off and running the others will follow suit using Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites as a model of how to "git'er done"
Are you soft? NASA did manned suborbital flights fifty years ago. Even though it was a bad idea the shuttle flew thirty years ago. These companies have taken longer to go from ground to the routine flights they swore they'd provide than NASA took from Sputnik to the Apollo landings.
Anyone who doesn't have his head - ahem - where the moon don't shine knows that.
Yes Johnny, many programs and vehicles have achieved surborbital space, and LEO orbit... they weren't shooting for new frontiers here.
They were competing with spacex and orbital science for COTS funding. Rocketplane lost.
We should do away with all efforts to develop space hardware. Our engineers can't do it cost effectively anymore and we really don't need the intellectual wealth that comes from knowing how to do it. Why do you need to have intellectual ability when you can simply borrow your way to prosperity. As a nation we simply must become comfortable knowing that we are the big fat consumers of this planet, not the producers. Leave space exploration for the ambitions of other nations and let me lie on the couch watching them achieve it on TV.
that attitude is not acceptable. although it is the common theme coming from most couches these days. lol
I think he was using a heavy dose of sarcasm there, he just forgot /sarcasm at the end.
GCV, would 'other natoins' include China and India, who are fast approaching the U.S. per capita consumption?
Be a couch potato yourself if you wish, but your point is lost on me.
See glad to see the government giving money away to private investors to no avail when American aerospace companies fully capable of delivering the product go wanting.
why are we still trying to find a "home" in space when we have over 5 million empty homes in the usa right now???? it is time to step back and regroup and change some of our priorities.
Because this planet can't hold humanity forever and with our current technology it will take a LOT of test flights, research, and ingenuity to colonize other places. We have to keep working and improving technology and inventing new technology if we want to go anywhere. Unless you have a better way to control the ever growing population on this planet?
JJ, Why dont you do something useful and pick up an educationalbook on all the technological, scientific, biological, engineering, and oh so many other fields that resulted from space exploration.
In fact you wouldnt be able to be typing your shortsighted comments on this blog if it wasnt for space exploration. Seriously I am appalled at how thick in the head people are to the importance of continuing the space program and increasing its budget which is pitiful to begin with.
We already dumped 1.5 trillion+ dollars into the economy to keep it from imploding seriously you cant fix stupid, those homes are empty because stupid people got homes that couldnt afford them because they were mentally retarded in the areas of finance and how to create a budget.
The rest of the people that got tossed from their homes have those people that bought outside their means to thank for screwing the economy.
Our govt wastes so much money on stupid pointless programs and space exploration isnt one of them, they need to quadruple the budget if anything.
I challenge you to actually do some research and look up all industries, aspects of life, all the medical break thrus, all the new fan-dangled technology's you can go buy, all the advancements to the food industry, basically every aspect of your life has been touched in some way as a result of the space program.
Go ahead, check it out I can guarrante you that your views on the subject will change.
why are we still trying to find a "home" in space when we have over 5 million empty homes in the usa right now???? it is time to step back and regroup and change some of our priorities.
JJ you repeated yourself, and your point is? Empty homes are not the fault of those who are achieving the goals of moving forward (which, by the way, is what all of us should strive for, to find solutions, not merely point out faults). So my question back to you is what is the solution to empty homes? Could it possibly be that the people here in the USA are partly to blame for that? People in the USA have become couch potatoes. Other countries still have the "drive" to achieve on a personal scale. Don't get me wrong - there are still those exceptions here, but not like there was even 30 years ago. Seems like everyone here wants something for nothing. Look at the path the great Roman Empire took before the fall; some of the parallels are prophetic, and will become our reality if we don't start stepping up to the plate instead of expecting it to be handed to us. Understand that I am not being critical of your writing, as it is only a reflection of a general state of complacency in our society that will only set us on a backward path, or a downward spiral, as it seems.
JJ's point would be valid if the space program's funding were larger. But NASA's budget is actually only about 0.5% of the federal budget. Back during the space race days it was over 5% of the budget.
Is 0.5% so much to ask for a program that does so much actual good for society??
Well said cjsks, personally I'd like to see the level of innovation we could crank out if we increased NASA's funding back up to 5%.
Actually Brokinarrow I would like to see it go to 10%, our society needs to get over its reactionary path and become proactive, We dont deal with things till its too late, then it costs three times as much.
We need a moon base now. We need to be out there in space already, just think what things would be like if we continued on the path we were on during the moon landing race with Russia, if we didnt stop or slow down we would most likely have a big base on the moon and be planning (if we were not already there) an manned mission to Mars.
So much lost time, its sad. Imagin how many new advancments that society could be benefiting from already....
Agreed. simply put we cannot, as a nation, depend on the other nations' space agencies to ferry Americans to space. we need our own system. our own vehicles. the down to Earth fact of the matter is the American space program is a jobs hog, if we have a robust space program we have put a pantload of American's to work (not to mention all the overseas jobs we are creating by using parts made elsewhere).
Also, where is my hovercar? this is not a complex problem anymore. all it has to do is hover, be computer controlled, and it has to have zero emissions. it's very doable, but nope, damn oil companies still run the show with government sponsorship. boo i say, very boo!
and another thing, why does it have to be so expensive! lower the prices to say 10,000 dollars and then see how many people you'll get on board these things! there are (apparently) spaceports being built all over the world (oklahoma, arizona, hawaii, dubai, to name a few).
We should NOT go back to shooting tin cans into space and crash landing back on earth! Reusable is the only way to go, and an updated space shuttle makes sense. We're explorers as a species, and we need a vehicle that will allow for the experimentation and eventually colonization that we'll need to use the Moon as a stepping stone to Mars, or beyond.
If we need civilian innovations to do that, we need civilian innovation. Obviously, if we sat on our ass and allowed the Space Shuttle to become "outmoded," we need SOMETHING.
With the current "progressive" crap coming out of congress we couldn't develop anything but a good case of mediocrity , I don't know if you've heard but osama obama says there is nothing "exceptional"about the US! He says we're no better than
Zimbabwe or Oogabooga or anyone else on earth, we're supposed to settle for the great movement to provide EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE , FREE OF CHARGE on earth! It wasn't easy to become the greatest, most productive nation on earth and we'll never recover that spot if we allow "progressives" to destroy capitalism !
GOVERNMENT IS THE ENEMY OF FREE MEN!
oh god. I agree that the government should fear it's people and not the other way around but you need to pull your head out of your butt. as a texan you should be emailing your state representative over and over with calls to not cancel the constellation program. keep jobs in Texas! take men to the moon! build a moon base! but for the love of all that's glorious stop saying oogabooga to make a point!
What would be nice to see is a completely new system for getting to space. the kind of system where we don't have to measure how much getting to space costs based on weight. the heavier you and the stuff you want to take to space are the more it costs to ride on a space shuttle. and now we don't even have those much longer. this is the lamest kind of outsourcing. why does our government insist on paying Russia to get NASA astronauts into space?
We're just trying to help them find that dog they sent out there, years ago. He's probably hungry by now.
poor doggy :-(
But really, Bob (can I call you bob?) - I completely agree with you, the current system is way to pricey. I've read a little about 'launch loops' and they sound somewhat promising. But as I am no expert in that field, I would have to assume there are some design issues keeping it from becoming a reality.'
Here's the wiki for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_loop
OKay, now that the project has gone belly-up, let's take a look at how much of our money was spent on French's salary, perks, office, etc. Bet he picked up a few personal effects from the deal/
Eep, op, ork, ah-ah.
Suborbital tourist mobiles? Hey wonder why these Disney rides haven't panned out, but these programs are why President Obama shut down manned space flight, because private industry is so successful.
The company would have gone bankrupt anyway. Where would they fly people? Where would they stay, in a moon hotel? They would have no passengers. Rather the company go bankrupt now, instead of wasting more taxpayer money on a company headed nowhere.
So, much for weaning ourselves off fossil feuls. Thank you, Socialist States of America, for neglecting our children. What an absolute waste of taxpayer money. I can't believe they give my tax dollars to these insane projects that have no benefit to regular people. But then again regualr people can't afford a Washington lobbyist. What's next a billion dollar phaser gun or "Beam me up, Scotty." technology. I really wish our Government would wake up to reality.
Get a clue and do some research, just take a look around you where you are sitting right now most of what you see is a result of your pointless space exploration.
Take a look on the internet if you feel like being enlightened.
Borninphilly,
Really? No benefit to regular people? Huh? Are you freakin' serious? Half the crap you use in your house had its beginning in space flight. They didn't just invent TANG, ya know. We need to expand our space program!
Investment creates jobs. Take an economics course or two, would ya?
Gentle beings, we have shat were we sleep, a big species no-no. It's time to move on, move up and out and leave Gaia to the next sentient two-steppers.
anything run by the government or funded by the government just ends up wasting money.
The Space Race is for high stakes gamblers. I doubt any of the contenders are well financed enough to ultimately "win" the race. After all even Boeing, very solid company, puts its corporate life on the line every time it launches a fundamentally different airplane like the Dream Liner, and they understand the science and engineering of airplanes.
All of these companies are making a contribution to a new flight vehicle that will impact history, but being first gives no guarantee of financial success.
all thats been said is good to hear. I do not question rocketplanes sincerity....but I would think there is plenty of room for analysis!!....is nasa too critical or not critical enough on private companies financial strengths?.....of couse I understand that the government mentality is we want it now, you'll get it when we get around to it...so much for the FOR THE PEOPLE part....In the meantime what role do lobbyists play in all this?...if we thought the BMM partieres had some fun I bet this (aerospace contracting) is just RIPE for an avid journalist!!...and imagine all the regulation, red tape, name calling and hat dropping that we young american space capitalists gotta take served up on a regular basis!!...I can't imagine playing off a texas spaceport against a kansas space port for some sort of credits that I can cash in at a later date!!..sounds like what is gonna happen when some duffball starts hoarding carbon credits, seems the regulation BELONGS on THAT!!...it really is selling derivatives on derivatives...imaginary passangers who will buy imaginary seats on an imaginary space voyage...from hotel kansas TO hotel kansas....the whole point here is not to make a lot of money, that will come from the hard work and succint biz planning...the whole point is to start a fledging space capitalism culture....wean the scientists off of nasa? doubtful. At least they were not TOO BIG TO FAIL!!, I think some of the other companies are vieing for the coveted AMERICAN TBTF position! At least in this economy rocketplane could reemerge, either restructered or re-invented or etc.....In the meantime, we as a nation, should consider closing the door on outsider companies...LIKE HALLIBURTON for instance (mostly on principles) but more so because their corporate HQ ain't on US soil!!....then REALLY help ANY (US) company that TRIES to get in this game!!!....I mean we stand poised to open source all our space tech to CHINA, and like an earlier poster stated..sit on the couch and watch em build moonbase alpha...WHAT FOR US???...aweshucks, you shouldn't have...here take texas as a token of our good will!!.....I saw what chimerica did to our local textile factory (with plenty of help from the local boro council by the way)...I would hate to think what would happen to cape canaveral....In the meantime we might as well join the huxsters...MANDATE A SPACE PORT IN EVERY STATE OF THE UNION!!!....might just work if they get it passed after they mandate that all mandates are paid for before mandated....ha....good luck with that....HEY ROCKET PLANE! SAD TO SEE YA GO>>THATS BIZ YA KNOW>>>COME ON BACK AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!!!WE CAN"T LET GATES WIN YET AGAIN!!!....in the meantime keep an eye out for a large saucer a few thosand feet in diameter....apparently if we don't have any markings it does not exist and the regulators can waste all day over at ufo.com mandating full disclosure on everything they DON"T know, silly clods. We had the steam engine for thousands of years until someone said "eureka! a railroad locomotive"!!.....eheh.
Ya, but I bet a some are laughing at the bank right now !
I agree! What do I need all that space crap for?
I've got my GPS, my Direct TV, my smart phone, my internet, my worldwide weather forecasts, my solar power, my TV remote, my Google Earth, and my ESPN.
Why pour all that money down that space hole? It's not doing me any good!