Apparently the Canadian team that failed at winning the X-Prize is now part of a new space tourism venture called PlanetSpace. They may even have a trasportation system operating before Burt Rutan, the man who won the X-Prize, can do the same. The Canadian Arrow was a good idea, but I never saw any real funding backing them up which is the clincher in these things.
I always thought it was ironic that they would choose to name their bird after an airplane that was build over 40 years ago, and was so revolutionary that it was scrapped by the Tories at the time. I guess you could say it's all part of the amazing Canadian legacy of shooting ourselves in the foot whenever something good comes along.
The other thing I always found interesting about the Arrow team was the belief that they would finish what Von Braun started with the V2. The V2 and it's succesors were notorious in WWII for their ability to terrorize the Allies. Many will no doubt shudder at the thought of using the same designs for space tourism because of their links to Nazyism.
But now they have funding from Chirinjeev Kathuria, a Republican from the US.
Now comes the tough part that I have to say even it it pains me: don't build it in Canada. First of all you have the curse of this thing being called the Arrow. I don't believe in curses, but I do believe in history repeating himself. Trust me, the government will find some way of scuttling this private venture easily. Also keep in mind the designs are linked to WWII facism and Nazyism. I'm expecting at least one Liberal legislator that will have nothing better to do than attack them for that. Then there is the clincher: the main source of funding is from a Conservative. The Liberals would tar and feather every Conservative inside this country and out if the law would let them.
If you build it in Canada, it will have a better chance of dying. This friendly Liberal dictatorship cares little about Canadians, or about space exploration, it cares more about power and control.
