His work in Russia continued after the Soviet Union fell, first by working with Russian space company Energia beginning in 1992. Getty ImagesThe emergence of Russian space companies, which were building durable rockets at reasonable price tags, helped energize the marketplace. That allowed Rutan to claim the $10 million Ansari XPRIZE, an incentive offered to spur development of private space vehicles. Spurred on this success and others like it, investors have begun to flock to the commercial space sector. “The commercial space sector had really gained excellence in commercial and technical capability,” says Phil McAlister, NASA’s director of commercial spaceflight.

Source: Forbes May 25, 2020 10:30 UTC