Is there an economic downturn in space?
[Editor's Note: Yesterday, we heard from William Pomerantz, who runs Google's Lunar X Prize, on how private enterprise may give NASA and America's space program a much-needed infusion. One question he didn't touch on is how the current economic downturn may affect these space privateers and the investors who keep them flying. Below, Jeff Foust, editor and publisher of The Space Review, sheds light on the issue.]
Over the last several years, an entrepreneurial space industry… Continue Reading
Surveillance firm Insitu sells to Boeing for reported $400M
Aerial surveillance startup Insitu surprised everyone Tuesday when it said that it would sell to Boeing, one of the world’s largest aviation firms. The company, which makes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), had been expected to go through an IPO within a year or two.
UAV makers have met with plenty of success in the past few years, in part because of the vast military expenditures in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as growing markets for applications… Continue Reading