re: Thoughts On A Private Space Program
The technology for building a ballistic-entry space vehicle is well-known, and doing it on a private budget would not be all that difficult (relatively speaking.) As usual, NASA is working WAY too hard.
I have worked on several such designs, such as this one, (PDF download) and more recent simpler configurations.
The Alternate Access version was intended to be launched by surplus Titan IIs in early flights. Had it been funded, it would be flying right now.