Now that first private spaceship has crossed the border to space and NASA considers offering prizes for various other private space accomplishments, and remembering that NASA is unable to do maintenance to Hubble space telescope due to space shuttles being grounded, when are we going to see first commercial maintenance operation to Hubble and other satellites? My guess is as soon as next year. Rutan’s SpaceShipOne looks promising and if NASA is allowed to buy services from commercial provides, I see no reason why it wouldn’t happen. Government organized space missions begin to look like history, despite Mr. Bush’s plans to go to Mars. Personally I bet the first Mars mission will be privately organized, although it’ll probably have (mostly) public funding.