Part of the reason the company thinks it can lower costs is because, unlike Pegasus, it already has a carrier aircraft - the same plane that will be lifting the passenger spaceship to its launch altitude.

BBC: Science & Environment

South Korea's Hyundai will launch the five-passenger hatchback Santro in September.

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The problem with the Ariane rocket also delays the launch of Skynet 5B's co-passenger - a Brazilian satellite called Star One C1 which will deliver broadband internet services to consumers in South America.

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And Renault, which is making the biggest push into electric vehicles, is planning to launch a scooter-type car called the Twizy (in which a single passenger sits behind the driver like on a motorcycle), a midsized family car called the Fluence and the sportier Zoe.

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Then, providing they can reduce space launch costs by a large factor, they may be able to exploit new business opportunities, including passenger traffic to outer space.

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