How much money does it take to develop a suborbital RLV?
This varies considerably with the type of vehicle and the applications towards which it is aimed. Taking advantage of volunteer labor and donated equipment, some X PRIZE projects will probably fly for a few million dollars. Burt Rutan, on the other hand, has reportedly received funding in the $30 million range for development of the SpaceShipOne project, which also aims to win the X PRIZE.. However, most of the X PRIZE projects will not become commercial vehicles. Rutan, for example, has said that he sees the SS1 as a prototype and proof of principle system and has no plans to commercialize it. Commercial projects range from the few tens of millions to the $50 million range. D.
