Cost plus, helps promote research (without concern of actually accomplishing anything) but she’s clearly focusing on a more responsible fiscal attempt at pushing the COTS and CCTS and the other aspects, while clearly being muzzled by the expectations of her positions.
I find loving “SpaceShipOne” as a love affair as kinda week. Ruttan was chasing a goal, as were his funders, and it seems that the promise isn’t living up to the goals. As Rand said (I won’t link cuz I don’t think most of you care) Burt got caught in the commercial action and was locked into creating a hybrid, rather than being able to negotiate for a pure liquid engine that is considered “The most efficient rocket” ever produced (It’s relatively small, but stack two of them on SS2, and you reach suborbital, but you can’t do that, because their is a contract.
Meanwhile Xcor is expecting their first suborbital flights in 2013 (I might have that wrong) and able to reach out to commercial within 18 months after, but Burt eager to be the first, and with a level of funding that is ridiculous just raced to be first, and might prove to have damaged VG in terms of competition.
