New Rockets, On Sale: For certain kinds of launch vehicles, the price of getting to orbit may be coming down substantially given new entrants in the industry, Space Command chief Gen. William Shelton said Tuesday. In a press conference at AFA’s Air & Space Conference, Shelton said “we’re confident and hopeful” of “considerable reductions” in launch costs in the near future; possibly as early as next year. Although “there are all kinds of promises out there [about lower costs], if you listen to the launch provider, they say that at half the cost, they can provide equal capability.” He’s skeptical of such a steep price cut, though. “We believe that once you add what we would require for mission assurance, what we would require for reliability purposes, that’s probably a bridge too far.” If a 50 percent cut is really possible, “sign me up,” Shelton said. But “I would hope for a number of between 25 and 50 percent.” He said “I think that’s what’s achievable. … If we don’t achieve it in this first buy that we’re going to award in 2013, I would think I the next buy beyond that, we’re looking at significant reductions in cost.”
The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital is giving a $150 million conditional loan to Rocket Lab meant to increase the launch rate for its new reusable Neutron rocket, which is slated for its first flight next year.