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Presents a commentary on bringing down the costs of space travel. President Bush's desire to start anew space exploration program which could cost $750 billion; Belief that some changes could reduce that cost; Cost of putting people in space which is about the same as 30 years ago; Contention that if NASA licensed out the space ferry work, costs would be reduced by the income made; Two companies who have developed space vehicles which are Space Exploration Technologies Corp. which is funded by Elon Musk, the co-founder of PayPal, Inc.; SpaceShipOne created by Scaled Composites LLC in Mojave, California; Role of the X Prize in development of the vehicles; Belief that Washington should encourage private enterprise in the field.

The article offers a look at the production of full-size test models or boilerplates of the Apollo spacecraft that will land U.S. astronauts on the moon at the Downey, California plant of North American Aviation, Inc. The test models of the Apollo spacecraft ware made of aluminum instead of steel and they will be hand-crafted. Two of the test models will contain most of the electronic and other systems that will installed in the operational Apollo.

The article discusses Boeing Co.'s efforts to enter lean satellite manufacturing. Since the mid-2000s, Boeing's drive to gain the efficiencies of lean manufacturing has been part of the strategy at its Space & Intelligence Systems (S&IS) factory in El Segundo, California. In El Segundo, the U.S. Air Force's GPS Block IIF program offered an opening for pulsed production as 12 identical spacecraft are to be built as part of a contract worth 1.35 billion dollars.

The article focuses on the launch of Virgin Galactic's spacecraft SpaceShipTwo on December 7, 2009. It states that around 800 people, including California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, gathered at the Runway 30 at Majove Air and Space Port to witness the activity. It adds that the spacecraft is ready to start its flight test phase after its very challenging development, including the death of three Scaled employees during a propulsion system test.

Describes how Redwood City, California-based Rotary Rocket Co. used the Internet to design the Roton ATV spacecraft for commercial spaceflight. Online development of the basic concept of a low-cost, single-stage spaceflight; Mission to launch low-orbit satellites that will support the next generation of wireless Internet communications; Operation of the Roton with a cost structure similar to a commercial airline.

The article presents an interview with Burt Rutan, an engineer at California-based Scaled Composites Inc. Rutan offers information on the chief design challenges in the SpaceShipOne, a suborbital space flight program. When asked about the challenges faced by him in the program, Rutan said that the flight controls and feathered actuation had to be dealt with to achieve carefree re-entry. He believes that the spaceship design for public orbital flight will be happening soon.