Two X-Prize teams, presumed extinct, are still going strong!

Judging by the dormant websites and lack of news, I always assumed that Lone Star Space Access and Advent Launch Services had either gone out of business or were still looking for funding.

But this week, much to my suprise, I was proved wrong.

Advent Launch Services is not only still around but is in fact conducting full-scale engine tests, asthis article in the Baltimore Sun attests to.

And as for Lone Star Space Access, their website, after years of dormancy, has roared back into action. Intriguingly, although the website has lots of new information, the news section states news announcements has been limited after November 2000 due to stipulations made during on-going negotiations. I don't know exactly what to make of that, but the updating of the web-site is a promising sign that the company's still going strong.

Of course, I don't think either of these teams will win the X-Prize, but the more competitors, the merrier -- and the more options future space tourists will have.

http://www.lonestarspace.com/prod02.htm

A HTHL spaceplane with turbofan engines is "simple" ? That is like ... so last decade

Looks more like they have an HTML spaceplane

I've searched and search for anything that Republic Aerospace Corporation has actually DONE, and found nothing. Anyone can say that they have something they have developed, but aren't allowed to talk about.

In fact, their web site even has the rules of the game down wrong. They state that the ship must go up '62 nautical miles'. No it doesn't. It has to go up 62 conventional miles, or 100KM. 62 nautical miles is over 71 miles, or around 120 km.

If they don't even know the difference between a nautical mile and ordinary miles, then I doubt they have the knowhow to put a ship into space

Mars probes have exploded over less so ya never know.