Space racers unite in federation

America's top rivals in the private-sector space race are now on the same side, in a federation newly formed to advance their infant industry's interests.

The Personal Spaceflight Federation, whose establishment was announced Tuesday, brings together a who's who of space entrepreneurs, including SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan, whose team won the $10 million X Prize last October, and video-game genius John Carmack, whose Armadillo Aerospace team was among the leading contenders for the prize.

The industry group plans to work with federal regulators to help draw up the "rules of the road" for suborbital space tourism, following up on last year's landmark law on private-sector spaceflight, said Gregg Maryniak, who serves as the federation's chief spokesman as well as executive director of the X Prize Foundation.

"This new legislation basically says that government and industry need to work together to come up with safety standards, and we believe very strongly that industry's going to have to come up with a product that's considerably safer than the current civil space program," he told MSNBC.com.

Maryniak cited "survey after survey after survey" indicating that 70 percent of Americans would buy a flight into space if they had the chance and the price was right. The federation grew out of discussions about how to capitalize on the new legislation and create a true industry to serve that demand, Maryniak said.

"Where we can, we will speak with one voice to the regulators," Maryniak said. "Just like in the early days of aviation, rivals often pull together to help each other out. ... There's a feeling that this is a time to pull together."

Leading industry figures
The federation's other founding members are:

• SpaceX's Elon Musk, who is taking aim at a $50 million prize for orbital spaceflight.
• Alex Tai of Virgin Galactic, which is working with Rutan to begin commercial suborbital tours by 2008.
• Stuart Witt, director of the Mojave Spaceport in California.
• Michael Kelly, chairman of the RLV Working Group at COMSTAC, the U.S. Transportation Department's industry advisory committee.
• Jeff Greason of XCOR Aerospace.
• Gary Hudson of T/Space and HMX.
• George French of Rocketplane Ltd.
• Eric Anderson of Space Adventures.
• Peter Diamandis, the X Prize Foundation's chairman.

Other suborbital industry figures may join as well, said Diane Murphy, a spokeswoman for the group.

Maryniak declined to discuss who will be leading the federation or precisely how it will draw up its proposed safety regulations.

"All that will be revealed, but it's premature," he said. "Watch this space."

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