No Lockheed money for PlanetSpace

Lost in all the developments surrounding the X Prize Cup was a report that Lockheed Martin would invest $45 million towards the development of a spaceport in Nova Scotia for PlanetSpace. Well, so much for that. The Globe and Mail reported a day later that Canadian officials had quashed any such investment plans, which were tied to the Canadian government’s purchase of Lockheed-built C-130 cargo planes. “There have been no discussions between Industry Minister Prentice or any member of his staff regarding Lockheed Martin investing $45-million of its own money in the so-called PlanetSpace space-tourism project in Cape Breton. Nor will there be any such discussions,” a spokesman for Canada’s industry minister told the paper. Apparently government officials flinched at investing anything linked to space tourism: “Space tourism will be left to tourists.”