The two entrepreneurial companies that NASA chose to share almost a half billion dollars in government seed money already have made a comparable investment in private funds to start a commercial space transportation industry. Indeed, Kistler Aerospace spent more than the entire $500 million NASA has set aside under its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program before it went under in bankruptcy for the second time. Now, as Rock-etplane Kistler (RpK), the company says it has $400 million of flight hardware already built, including 75% of the first K-1 reusable two-stage-to-orbit launcher.
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