5 private companies taking over NASA's suborbital flights
Step aside, bloated and inefficient government agency: private industry is rapidly tearing down what was once the domain of only the most powerful of nations. NASA has surrendered to progress by contracting out suborbital flights to a handful of commercial space companies.
With a few exceptions, most commercial launch companies are focused on reaching "space," where those quotes refer to the fact that we're talking about crossing a technical and somewhat arbitrary altitude line as opposed to making it up into what most people think of as "space," which would be orbit. This is not to say that space by any definition is easy to reach or that it's not a useful place to hang out for a little bit: there are all kinds of experiments need either a boatload of altitude or a few minutes of weightlessness to work properly, and there are a few companies that are currently able to provide these capabilities.
It's not only cheaper for NASA to subcontract missions like these to commercial partners, but it's also better overall, since it encourages the development of private spaceflight technology that will one day offer regular schmucks like you and me the chance to experience some seriously incredible views. In the gallery below, check some of the companies who have been chosen to start ferrying NASA payloads into space.
NASA, via Network World
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XCOR Aerospace Lynx "Lynx is a small rocket-powered aircraft capable of carrying one pilot, a ticketed passenger and/or a payload in a suborbital trajectory. Mark I (Prototype) will fly to 61 km (200,000 ft) and can provide nearly one minute (56 seconds) of microgravity. Mark II (Production Model) will be able to reach 100 km (330,000 ft) with almost three minutes (186 seconds) of microgravity." Caption via NASA
Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo "SpaceShipTwo (SS2) uses all the same basic technology, carbon composite construction and design as SpaceShipOne (SS1). However it is around twice as large as that vehicle and will carry six passengers and two pilots. It is 18.3 m (60 ft) long with a 2.28 m (90") diameter cabin which is similar in size to a Falcon 900 executive jet albeit with no floor dissecting the cabin allowing maximum room for the astronauts to float in zero gravity." Caption via NASA
Armadillo Aerospace Super Mod "Super Mod is an extended version of the Mod vehicle and has a two stacked tank configuration with the payload fairing on the top of the vehicle. The Mod vehicles successfully competed in NASA's Lunar Lander Challenge winning first prize in Level 1 (2008, Mod) and winning 2nd place in Level 2 (2009, Super Mod)." Caption via NASA
Masten Space Systems Xaero "Xaero is a reconfiguration from the Xombie platform that won Level II of the Lunar Lander Challenge. The company expects Xaero to begin higher altitude and higher speed flights in the fourth quarter of 2010. Xaero is expected to be able to carry a 10 kg payload to approximately 30 kilometers (or 100,000 feet) according to current models with higher masses at lower altitudes or shorter flight durations." Caption via NASA
UP Aerospace Spaceloft "The SpaceLoft XL is UP Aerospace's workhorse rocket — ideal for significant-size payloads and multiple, simultaneous-customer operations. It is a single-stage unguided sub-orbital launch vehicle designed to provide highly reliable, low-cost access to space. The vehicle's mil-spec, solid rocket motor design is space flight proven, backed by two years of intensive ground qualification testing. The system offers numerous advantages including minimal on-pad effort and simplified pre-launch and launch operations." Caption via Up Aerospace
