As far as nano-UAVs, there are a growing number of products in the marketplace for the Marine Corps to choose from, said Phil Finnegan, an analyst with the Teal Group.

A Norwegian company, ProxDynamics, is offering a palm-sized miniature helicopter, the PD-100 T Black Hornet, which can fly with an electro-optical camera and thermal sensor provided by FLIR Systems Inc. for night operations. U.K. forces, and possibly U.S. Special Operations Command, have purchased some of the mini-copters, Finnegan said.

Nano-UAVs "definitely [are] a rapidly growing market. That being said, the [contract] value is nowhere near those of the larger systems," he added.

"I would say [all-electric is] a growing market, it has good potential, but I don't see it as a booming market in the near term," Marco Caceres, senior analyst and director of space studies at the Teal Group told Via Satellite. "[Hybrid propulsion] is a very transitional way of doing it to see if it works. In the end you may end up going to all electric if the technology improves so that it has enough of a kick to get satellites in orbit faster."

"Bev Wyse is one of the best-regarded people at Boeing and in the industry," said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at the Teal Group.

"What has propelled the market to record growth are two factors: cheap cash and expensive fuel," said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with the Teal Group in suburban Washington. "Now something has changed."

Whether the continued fall in price of oil represents something more significant than a short-term imbalance of global supply and demand remains to be seen, some analysts warn. But if it continues, airlines would be motivated to keep their older, fuel-guzzling jets flying for a few more years and delay new orders in hopes of saving money.

"We can't yet predict if it will last or how the air carriers will react," Mr. Aboulafia said, "but I think now would be an excellent time for caution."

Taking that as a guide, VG would need to be, at least, a $2 billion program. But can any company afford to do private space safely? Marco Caceres, a space-industry analyst at Teal Group, named one contender: SpaceX. Founder Elon Musk's company is positioned for success because it's financing its development with commercial and government clients, not celebrities. "That sort of funding won't come from a few hundred adventure seekers," Caceres says. "It's going to take big-time investment."