OUR OPINION: Private flight

"The [Moon-Mars] report recommended advancing private investment in space exploration through such actions as tax incentives, for example a tax exemption until a space firm makes five times its original investment in profit; regulatory relief such as relaxing federal risk standards for people willing to go into space; and clearing up currently murky international private property rights for anything made in space.

SpaceShipOne is the biggest step so far in the privatization of our exploration of space. But it's just the first step of many.

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You can be very sure that Mr. Allen watched every penny being spent by Rutan, and doubtless said "No" to requests for more money more than once. And who do you suppose is Allen's counterpart in Washington, D.C., watching every penny of NASA's budget? That would be Congress. What a joke."

+ Read Editorial (Daily Press)