Kistler Aerospace and Space Access, two of Lockheed's rivals, are also developing reusable spacecraft and are shopping around for launch sites.

ECONOMIST: The space industry

Beginning in the 1940s Kistler helped create some commercial uses for aerogels, including an insecticide and a thickening agent for paint.

FORBES: Magazine Article

In 1931 American chemical engineer Samuel Kistler invented the lightest known solid--an aerogel--by drying a form of silicon dioxide (a raw material for glass) under intense pressure and high temperature.

FORBES: Magazine Article

When he was having trouble landing an internship, back in 2008, he discovered that a Google search on his name produced a Pete Kistler who was a convicted drug dealer.

FORBES: 6 Steps To Managing Your Online Reputation

Unable to pay for a reputation management firm, he teamed up with Ambron and taught himself how to set up multiple websites and to create content that would drive the drug dealer Kistler down in the search results.

FORBES: 6 Steps To Managing Your Online Reputation