Turning R&D into a profit center

Jeff Greason of XCOR Aerospace gave an overview of his company’s work at Space Access this morning. He noted that the company actually turned a profit last year, with revenues of approximately $3.8 million; the profit was an artifact of the timing of the contracts it was working on, and he said he doesn’t anticipate […]

Armadillo’s modular approach

John Carmack gave an extensive status report on Armadillo Aerospace at the Space Access conference yesterday. Armadillo’s near-term emphasis is on preparing for the 2007 Lunar Lander Challenge, having made some upgrades to Pixel and Texel, such as stronger landing legs. They are also working on their modular vehicle approach: putting together progressively more capable […]

Miscellaneous notes

A roundup of a few items going on in the field not associated with the Space Access conference:

Charles Simonyi announced that he will speak with high school students in the US from the ISS during his trip to the station, using the amateur radio link on the ISS. The Scotsman reviews a new book […]