After failing to come up with enough money, space startup Rocketplane Kistler is curbing development of its NASA-backed reusable rocket and laying off workers, reports the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
The company, which has been developing the K-1 reusable aerospace vehicle (pictured right), failed to raise the millions of dollars needed to keep the project afloat and qualify for government assistance. The K-1 was designed to deliver various payloads into orbit and provide a low-cost alternative to single-use launch vehicles, according to Kistler. For its own part, the Journal is characterizing the news as a significant blow to privately-funded space projects.
To wit: "The move is a dramatic setback for nascent efforts to secure mainstream commercial funding for various space endeavors, and it also creates significant policy and budget uncertainties for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration."
