Such images are in demand by land planners, cellular phone companies, and even fast-food chains deciding where to locate a new restaurant. TGV believes it will be able to supply those images at a lower cost than current orbiting satellites. It's just such experimentation that's needed, say space-industry fans. Aviation has developed at a much faster speed than space travel in large part because scores of companies were competing for a piece of the sky, says Gregg Maryniak, director of the Space Studies Institute. In 1912, for example, less than a decade after the Wright brothers' first flight, there were nearly 200 makes of airplane.
Markets deal out failure too, of course.
The satellite launch industry is still reeling from the bankruptcy of Iridium, an ambitious, privately financed venture in satellite communication. Iridium woefully overestimated demand. And the only thing that's keeping its 73 satellites in orbit, under new owners, is a government contract. That's an irony even free-market fans should appreciate. World Report Inc. All rights reserved.