[jobu]

I think it's fantastic for two reasons. First, it keeps the lights on for the Russian space industry (more players makes for a more interesting field). Second, I believe the next big achievements in space will likely be done by private industry. This sets a bar for the cost to get people into space. Whenever some company can safely match the price of $50mil per person we will start having some real competition.

[commieneko]

I've been waiting for this to happen for over 30 years. No one will be happier than I will if/when a real space industry develops. But just like I think it is foolish for the US to outsource its manufacturing industry, it is doubly foolish to outsource our space program.

I'd almost sooner outsource our military... (opps!!!)

(Side note, there's a big difference between space industry and space science research. The needs of physicists/astronomers are different than the needs of engineers, even if there is some overlap. Both need to be supported and encouraged. And both need both private and government funding.)

[bfe]

SpaceX is a few bells and whistles away from a human-rated Crew Configuration of the Dragon spacecraft with seating for seven. Their initial contract for unpiloted cargo flights of Falcon 9 / Dragon to ISS charges an average of $133 million per flight. At the same rate, they could sell passenger seats for only $19 million.

That's just a back of the envelope calculation with a gazillion assumptions, but useful for making projections for the next few years.