MOJAVE, California (AP) -- Hoping to build on the momentum sparked by a private rocket plane's dash into space, supporters of opening the heavens to civilians are turning the winner-take-all race into an annual competition that might further fuel imaginations.
Wednesday’s SpaceShipOne flight offered a reminder of how risky commercial suborbital spaceflight can be, or at least seem to be. Jeff Foust explores the real and perceived risks and what the industry and regulators are doing to mitigate them.