OUTFITTERS FOR THE SPACE RUSH

Posted: Thursday, December 07, 2006 8:51 PM by Alan Boyle

During the California Gold Rush, the folks who reliably made money were not necessarily the miners – but the outfitters who sold shovels and other supplies to those miners. It could well be the same for the rush to private-sector spaceflight: At least that's the rationale behind Orbital Outfitters, a new venture that aims to lease spacesuits and other equipment to private rocketeers.

"You see through my evil plans," the company's chairman and president, longtime space advocate Rick Tumlinson, joked when I reminded him of the Gold Rush connection. "There was this guy named Levi Strauss who showed up during the Gold Rush..."

More at: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/12/07/19178.aspx