Independent european vehicle recommended...

Was thinking more of the way they are built.

I drive a cheap car, not that I cannot afford one more expensive, but the one I got is enough for me. I'd also be happy with going to space on a cheaper vehicle, but others might not, with different reasons.

There are many companies trying to get to space with "of the shelves" products. We also need to invest in the future, and new technology.

I welcome the EADS contribution!

I'm glad EADS has decided to offer an alternative, the more people working on vehicles the better. I'm a bit dissappointed that they didn't set the bar a bit higher for themselves and go for orbital.

One of the concerns I have though is that EADS will soak up any available funding without actually producing a craft and reduce the investment available for other companies, although they are better placed to attract government money than most. Perhaps they will be able to get funding that would not normally be available as they will be seen as a safer investment than a smaller space start up.

It doesn't matter if the development costs more. The development is being subsidised by EADS. They are not exactly famous for recouping investment costs.

If Nasa wrote off development costs and bought things at a marginal price then Delta's would be way cheaper.