XCOR Makes a Rocket-Powered Touch-and-Go 34
wronkiew writes "XCOR Aerospace made a touch-and-go with their experimental rocket powered airplane (see their announcement). The pilot was Dick Rutan, of Voyager fame. Aviation enthusiasts may be familiar with the touch-and-go, but for the uninitiated, this maneuver involves landing an airplane and then taking off again while still on the runway. Note that other rocket-powered vehicles require that the engine be dismantled before they are flown again. While their craft is not exactly a spaceship, it is good to hear of some progress in rocketplanes since the demise of the X-33."
Re:Space next? (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm sure these particular engineers would be able to reach orbit if they had sufficient funds- they used to work at Rotary Rocket.