SpaceShipOne can only do suborbital missions. Orbital missions are a radically different ballgame in terms of total energy output required from the propulsion system, spacecraft construction requirements due to a high-speed re-entry etc.
Again, cheap access to space is a management process problem, not a technology problem, be it orbital, sub-orbital etc.
High speed re-entry issues can and have been addressed by many of these project that were competing for the 10 mill...
You do not need any re-entry coatings to protect the vehicle if the re-entry flight profile is shallower and slower to begin with...At least from an orbit to ground sense...Not these suborbital fights...Yes they do have some design factors to take the temperatures of high-speed flight in those aspects, but nothing resembling tiles or other ablative coatings that are expensive...
The X-15 project proved this concept...Yes, the vehicle itself was expensive, and expensive to operate...But we gained tons of data to improve even on that design...
Rutan's project proved this...
Think of it like skipping the perfect rock over a pond...
Every hit on the water slowed it down slowly until certain factors like your delta V were effected in ways to allow a controlled decent through the water to the bottom...I know it sounds a bit off, but thats an idea that out there, but could work real well when applied...
You could write a whole book about it, but not here I guess...
Rutan's engineers "feathering" of the wing surface was I feel pure genius...And that wasn't because it was cool to do it like that...It was the only way to do it for that spacecraft design...
Thus the beauty of private corporations getting into this business...
Thats what I like to see...