Space Future has been on something of a hiatus of late. With the concept of Space Tourism steadily increasing in acceptance, and the advances of commercial space, much of our purpose could be said to be achieved. But this industry is still nascent, and there's much to do. So...watch this space.
Armadillo and Space Transport Corporation suffer setbacks
According to an Armadillo Aerospacepress release, their vehicle went higher than desired, then ran out of propellant. "$35,000 of rocket is now a whole lot of primo Armadillo Droppings," says the press release.
The Civilian Space Exploration team, an amateur group of rocket enthusiasts, built a rocket that reached the edges of space on May 17, 2004. The GoFast did not carry passengers, yet this speaks well for space tourism: if a group of amateurs can send an unpiloted rocket into space, how hard can suborbital tourism be? Combined with the latest SS1 flight, how can anyone say space travel and tourism isn't possible?