Yeah these tourism flights have limited utility on their own beyond rich people games. They're also years from competing with the big guys, if ever. BUT these

Yeah these tourism flights have limited utility on their own beyond rich people games. They're also years from competing with the big guys, if ever. BUT these B teams things advance tech anyway, cross pollinate, help with public awareness and motivation for new students. Some of this stuff will be garage startup level soon. The BE4 engine is in a deal to be used by ULA, if they ever get their business figured out. SS1 was a Scaled Composites design by Burt Rutan, pioneering carbon fiber construction, now in wide use for space applications. It's telling that neither Boeing nor Lockheed can make their own engines. It seems like their problem is their business model is hindering their engineering accomplishing anything and they depend on the B teams to absorb the risk. SLS is using RS-25's from inventory, will they all go home when those are depleted? edit, correction: They CAN make new RS-25's and in 2020, NASA signed up AR to make 18 more.