When will we see a golden age of spaceflight?

The supposed parallels between the development of aviation and of spaceflight are not as great as believed. The most significant differences are the public expectation that spaceflight, unlike aviation, is a matter for governments and the notion that, because it is so technically challenging, it must always be expensive. Early aviation was massively spurred on by the offer of lucrative prizes for the achievement of certain feats and by the activities of private barnstormers. The successfully attained X Prize has been the first attempt to do the same for spaceflight. The creation of further prizes could be the best way of promoting greater public involvement in space and commercially developing the sector. (c) 2005 Gregg Maryniak. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.