Blogs of Note

Rocket Plane Here's a great article from MIT's Technology Review on the new interest in rocket propelled planes - vehicles that can start, take off, turn off their engines, restart their engines to continue moving. These vehicles would be rocket powered, as they would need the power and velocity to break from Earth's gravity. There are currently a number of small companies constructing prototypes to prove that such vehicles are possible and viable. In the wake of the Columbia accident, maybe there will be interest and focus on finding replacements for the shuttles again. I recall that last year, due to budget cuts, the search for a shuttle replacement was either shelved or cut back significantly.