Private spaceflight
During the early years of spaceflight only nation states had the resources to develop and fly spacecraft. Both the U.S. space program and Soviet space program were operated using mainly military pilots as astronauts. During this period, no commercial space launches were available to private operators, and no private organization was able to offer space launches.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Manned spaceflight 3 External links |
The first phase of private space operation was the launch of the first commercial communications satellites. The Communications Satellite Act of 1962 opened the way to commercial consortia owning and operating their own satellites, although these were still launched on state-owned launch vehicles.
Satellite launch
As of 2004, a number of private organizations are able to launch satellites commercially. The emergence of this sector has led to a commercial market for the services of state space organizations around the world.
Private satellite launch organizations include:
- Arianespace
- EADS SPACE Transportation (subcontractor to Arianespace)
- EADS SPACE Transportation (subcontractor to Arianespace)
- China Satellite Launch and Tracking General
- India Space Research Organization
- Russian Federal Space Agency
- NASA
Manned spaceflight
Until 2004, no privately operated manned spaceflight had ever occurred. The only private individuals to journey to space went as space tourists on vehicles operated by the Russian Republic.
The Ansari X Prize is intended to stimulate private investment in the development of spaceflight technologies. The June 21, 2004 test flight of SpaceShipOne, a contender for the X Prize, was the first manned spaceflight in a privately developed and operated vehicle.
External links