PlanetSpace, Lockheed Martin, and spaceport funding

US-Canadian space transportation company PlanetSpace appears to have found an unlikely benefactor to help fund development of a planned spaceport for the company in Nova Scotia, Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported Friday. Lockheed Martin is reportedly offering to contribute $45 million over six years to help pay for the development of a spaceport on Cape Breton, about a third the cost of the overall project. It’s part of a complicated transaction that starts with a deal by the Canadian government to purchase 17 C-130 cargo planes from the company; as part of the deal, Lockheed has to invest the purchase price, $3.2 billion, in “the form of regional benefits”, according to the paper, and the spaceport showed up on Lockheed’s proposed list of investments.

The particular form of Lockheed’s contribution would be “to invest the money on Athena rockets that would propel the PlanetSpace craft into space”; as noted here earlier this week, PlanetSpace is studying the use of Lockheed’s planned-but-never-built Athena 3 rocket as a launch vehicle for PlanetSpace’s COTS proposal. PlanetSpace has hired a lobbyist, Fred Doucet (described by the paper as “former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s chief of staff and political troubleshooter”), to help the company secure the investment.

7 comments to PlanetSpace, Lockheed Martin, and spaceport funding

  • […] in all the developments surrounding the X Prize Cup was a report that Lockheed Martin would invest $45 million towards the development of a spaceport in Nova Scotia for P…. Well, so much for that. The Globe and Mail reported a day later that Canadian officials had […]

  • Dr Keith

    http://www.planetspace.org/pdf/PressRelease112107.pdf
    Hey this is not over and to all of you doubters:
    We aint dead yet :)
    Dr Keith

  • Ron Ry

    Dr Keith:
    Did you say “We”? Does this mean you are one of the team members?
    In this case I wish you and others at Planetspace good luck!

  • Buck.Bundy

    Ron,

    I suspect that everyone that follows Alt.Space wishes them well. On the condition that what their press releases say is true and not “Snake-Oil”.

    :)

    My $ 0.02 worth.

  • Buck.Bundy

    [From previous post]

    Questions;

    – What happened to Canadian Arrow?
    (Were they bough or merged into PlanetSpace, operating as a division of PlanetSpace or are they still a separate company?)

    – If, as you say, PlanetSpace changed their minds and decided not to complete the Arrow vehicle, why no press release?
    (I have seen articles pointing to a sub-orbital version of their Golden-Dart, but have seen nothing about scrapping the Arrow. I expected to have seen, in classic Canadian Arrow fashion, press releases about successful tests with video/pictures. What have they been working on that they can’t show ANYTHING, Antigravity propulsion?)

    – Have they met their COTS 1.0 unfunded SAA milestones?
    (Seeing as this document is public, and every other company releases details of the successful completion of their milestones, why doesn’t PlanetSpace?)

    -Don’t you think this whole IRB thing is hinkey?

    (One minute the reports are that they’re getting a 45 mil. IRB, the next day the Ministry of industry is saying they haven’t spoken with them and “NEVER WILL”. Two days later another spokesperson for the ministry releases another press release saying the same thing.
    Then their lobbyist, Fred Doucet, is named in a Federal scandal and is the subject of a Federal inquiry. Then Doucet removes himself from the lobbyist registry.)

    – What’s happening in Ohio?
    (In the summer, there was a lot of press about PlanetSpace being close to signing major deals. They signed a small one for equipment purchase, but that’s it.)

    [See next post]

    My $ 0.02 worth.

  • Buck.Bundy

    [From previous post]

    – What’s happening in Nova Scotia?
    (There has been no word of a deal in Nova Scotia. Their COTS milestone # 5 was for title to a property to be used for their launch site, but, “A spokeswoman for Nova Scotia Business Inc. confirmed that the government agency is in discussions with PlanetSpace to provide land for the launch site. It was reported last year
    that NSB Inc. planned to provide 120 hectares of land for the project, but spokeswoman Sarah Levy said there are still many “moving parts” in the negotiations and that numbers are
    not final.” as of October 26th 2007)

    – What’s the affiliation with SPACE505050.com?
    (This one is self explanatory, just go to the website yourself.)

    – What’s with the other Websites?
    (Even DaVinci projects websites are better and more up to date.)

    Thanks for your consideration.

    Your comments and participation are really appreciated. You might consider joining in here;

    http://spacefellowship.com/Forum/about3403.html

    We have a spirited discussion, but it’s all good fun. :)

    My $ 0.02 worth.

  • Buck.Bundy

    [This post precedes two previous]

    Dr Keith,

    youtube.com/watch?v=GipFyAsYK1M

    :)

    “We aint dead yet”

    You’re either;
    #1 – Their greatest FanBoy.
    #2 – An insider with the company.

    If it’s #1, enjoy the above video. If it’s # 2 enjoy the above video but consider answering some questions that have been causing the Alt. Space community to draw the conclusions that you seem to dislike so much.

    I realize that PlanetSpace does not OWE anyone but it’s shareholders any explanations.
    But, with an absence of information we (the Alt. Space community) will draw our own conclusions and discuss them freely here and on other online forums, that’s our right.

    Up front, I will stipulate that the work Canadian Arrow did during X-Prize 1.0. (Their Engine development and drop tests) was a testament to what the spirit of the Alt. Space community envisions these companies to be.

    My issue is with PlanetSpace. Starting with their press conference in the spring of 2005 where they committed to flight in 24 months. “it is a goal we can easily attain” – Geoff Sheerin (http://www.history.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=79312)

    [Continued – two posts above]

    My $ 0.02 worth.

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