Burt Rutan would probably disagree with you.
Please note that Scaled Composites, like the other X-Prize contestants, is doing it's own R&D. Precisely because they don't have the sums to throw around that governments do, they have to find a different way--smaller, faster cheaper.
And yes, I know the X-Prize is not an orbital shot. But I expect there will be an X2, and an X3. And at every stage, I imagine, there will be one or more Burt Rutans to take up the challenge.
21 Jun is the first scheduled spaceflight. Can the second be 22 Jun or would it take longer to prepare the SpaceShipOne?
Other than the X-prize itself, Burt Rutan cannot make money on his SS-1. The "tourist" dollar will tap itself out pretty quickly, and there are a lot cheaper ways to do "useful" sub-orbital stuff.
And yes, I know the X-Prize is not an orbital shot. But I expect there will be an X2, and an X3. And at every stage, I imagine, there will be one or more Burt Rutans to take up the challenge.
There's the rub. Can there be an orbital X2? I really don't think his current design will carry over to one that can reach orbit, and survive re-entry multiple times -- there are some basic issues of scale and structure that will make the X2 far more complex and expensive than the SS-1. Would it be cost-effective to build and operate? Would it be reliable enough? Are there enough customers to support an X2-building company? These are real questions, and Rutan's design does not address them.