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This impressive video from Armadillo is three years old. I wonder what they are up to now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u0qlIoSSkQ http://www.youtube.com/wa

• InclinedPlane 14y ago
  Right now there are several companies working on reusable launchers. SpaceX, of course, who already has a proven expendable orbital launcher. But also Blue Origin, Armadillo, XCOR, and Virgin Galactic. None of those companies have an orbital launch vehicle but each is working on building the foundations for reusability in the form of pioneering various control mechanisms (vertical landing being one) as well as engineering various component parts (from engines up to propellant tanks and so forth). Some of them are looking more at the sub-orbital space tourism market to provide early returns and some of them are certainly more dedicated and more well funded than others. Overall it'll be exciting to see what comes of it all.
  • jnw2 14y ago
    If Virgin Galactic can get the costs down enough, the really exciting thing about what they are proposing to do is turning 18 hour airplane flights into less than two hour suborbital flights. Even if you don't care about space for the sake of space, it's obvious that that would be a huge improvement in transportation between various points on Earth.
    • quotemstr 14y ago
      Yes, but if you can afford a suborbital flight, you can probably afford to spend those 18 hours in international first class, where you'll have access to a bed, unlimited champagne, caviar, and whatever else you want. Why cut that party short?