Commercial Spaceflight - Current Overview
The cancellation of the Vision of Space Exploration (VSE) Constellation program by President Obama on 1. February 2010 and the new directions for NASA puts the focus on commercial spaceflight plans and the associated companies.
The following table tries to compile the available information about NASA's initatives on Commercial Transport Systems (COTS), Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) and Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) to identify the major players in this new, fast growing arena.
The author takes no responsibility for correctness and completenss, the compilation should give an overall impression of the dynamically changing commercial space activities resulting from the recent decisions with focus on, but are not limited to CRuSR; CCDev and COTS assignments.
Readers are encouraged to provide corrections and/or update information to the Editor for SpaceOps News (joachimkehr@aol.com).
Glossary:
VTVL = Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing
HTHL = Horizontal Takeoff and Horizontal Landing
Armadillo Aerospace / Mesquite, Texas / John Carmack
| Image | Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks |
 | > Rocket Race Propulsion > Methan Mod (Lunar Lander) | VTVL | single person to orbit | Oklahoma Spaceport | -- | -- | >
Cooperation with OTRAG founder Lutz
Kayser (Germany) > Work on Lunar Lander (X-Price) > CRuSR candidate |
Bigelow Aerospace / Las Vegas, Nev / Robert Bigelow
| Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks | |
 | Genesis-I Genesis-II Sundancer BA-330 | Dnjepr Altlas 5 Falcon 9 | 6 | Yasni-Russia Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral | 2012 | -- | CCDev co-op with Boeing Space Exploration |
Blue Origin / Kent, Wash / Robert Millman
| Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks | |
 | > New Shephard > Escape system "pusher" > Composite pressure vessel (CC) | Propulsion and Capsule System | multiple (3) | West Texas | 2012-2015 | 2.5 Mio per system flight | >Suborbital to 120 km >CCDev award >Science Rep: Dr. A. Stern >Financing: J. Bezos >CRuSR candidate |
Boeing Space Exploration / Houston, Tex / Edmund G. Memi
| Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks | |
 | Orion Lite | Atlas 5 Falcon 9 | 7 | Cape Canaveral | -- | -- | >Selcted by NASA for CCDev (Feb.2010) >Co-op with Bigelow |
Masten Space Systems / Mojave, Ca / David Masten
| Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks | |
 | XA-1.0 | VTVL | -- | -- | -- | -- | eXtreme Altitude Vehicles (XA) for vertical takeoff and landing. CRuSR candidate |
Orbital Science Corporation / Dulles Va / Dave Thopson
| Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks | |
 | > Taurus 2 > Cygnus Cargo capsule  | -- | -- | Wallops Is | 2011 | -- | COTS contract >Crewed version of the SpaceX cargo transporter for CCDev (Dragon)  |
Paragon Space Development / Tucson / Jane Poynter
| Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks | |
| No Image available | Air revitalization system | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | CCDev award The Air revitalization system is compatible with > Dragon (SpaceX) > Cygnus (Orbital Sci) |
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) / Sparks Nev / Mark Sirangelo
| Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks | |
 | Dream Chaser |  Altlas-5 | 6 | Cape Canaveral | -- | -- | CCDev award winner Dream Chaser based on NASA HL-20 Coop with ULA for Manrating Atlas-5 |
Space Exploration Technologies - SpaceX /Hawthorne Ca / Elon Musk
| image | Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks |
 | >Falcon-1 >Falcon-9 >Dragon Cargo or Crew transport | Falcon 9 | 7 | Cape Canaveral | 2011 | -- |
TALIS - Project Enterprise / Cochstedt (Germany) / Frank Marco Guenzel
| Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks | |
 | Black Sky | HTHL | 5...6 | Cochstedt (Germany) | 2013 | 150.000Euro | Suborbital to 100 km Coop with Xtreme Air and SPL |
United Launch Alliance (ULA) / Denver / Mike Glass
| Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks | |
| No Image available | L/V health detection system for various launch vehicles | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | Health detection system compatible with: > Atlas-5 > Delta 4 Joint venture Boeing and Lockhed CCDev award |
Vigin Galactic / Mojave / Bob Rutan (Scaled Composites), Paul Anderson (Mojave Aerospace Ventures), Sir R. Branson (V.G.)
| Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks | |
 | SpaceShip 1+2 White Knight 1+2 | HTHL | 6 | Mojave Spaceport Spaceport America Kiruna, Sweden Coop with Saudia Arabia | 2010 | 200.000 $ |  Suborbital to max. 109 km Partnership with Abu Dhabi CRuSR candidate |
XCOR Aero / Mojave Ca / Jeff Greason
| Product | L/V | Passengers | SpacePort | Dates | Price | Remarks | |
| Lynx Mk1 | HTHL | 1 plus pilot | Mojave Air and Spaceport | 2011 marketing ongoing | 95.000 $ | Suborbital flights to 60 km Coop with South Korea CRuSR candidate |