BUREAUCRATS AND BAD LAW are frustrating space tourism efforts:

It is not the technical issues, or even the financing, that is causing concern. It is uncertainty about US licensing requirements.

“At this point we are not able to even view Scaled Composites’ designs for the commercial space vehicle,” Mr Whitehorn testified before the House committee.

“After US government technology-transfer issues are clarified, and addressed if deemed necessary, we hope to place a firm order for the spacecraft,” he said.

Mr Rutan added that the regulations have already affected financing for the project, which originally was to come from Mr Branson’s London-based Virgin Group. . . .

Mr Rutan saved his harshest criticism for another branch of the US government, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which oversaw the flights of SpaceShipOne.

“The process just about ruined my programme,” he said. “It resulted in cost overruns, increased the risk for my test pilots, did not reduce the risk to the non-involved public, destroyed our ‘always question, never defend’ safety policy and removed our opportunities to seek new innovative safety solutions.”

Mr Rutan said the problems arose because the same rules that applied to unmanned, expendable boosters were being applied to passenger spaceships.

The good news is that Congress seems to be paying attention.