from Babbage | The Economist by T.C.

NEWS from the fledgling private space business is coming thick and fast. A few days ago the Antares rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corporation made a successful maiden flight, paving the way for Orbital to provide some competition for SpaceX when it comes to delivering cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). Then, on April 29th, Virgin Galactic, the private space firm with the slickest PR (its name notwithstanding, the firm does not even plan to fly into orbit), conducted a successful, in-flight test-firing of the rocket motor aboard its SpaceShipTwo craft.