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Space Startup Rocketplane Fails to Launch

wired.com — In the hypercompetitive world of commercial spaceflight, you need deep pockets just to stay in the game. That's why some customers and investors are losing confidence in Rocketplane, which spent 2007 getting outflanked by better-funded competitors and being buffeted by bad publicity -- instead of launching its first suborbital flight, as the compan

Who dugg this? Made popular Apr 9, 2008

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  • ZephyrNinety, on 04/09/2008, -1/+21It needs flames painted on it.
  • kh99, on 04/09/2008, -2/+14Did they check the gas? I bet it was out of gas.
  • debuggercll, on 04/09/2008, -0/+11And a shark's mouth painted on the nose.
  • unknamed, on 04/09/2008, -1/+5I guess the thing about commercial spaceflight that I don't get is... where exactly are you going? Seems like at this point it's going to be nothing more than the world's most expensive roller coaster ride.
    Wish I had that kind of money to burn.
  • JosephCarpenter, on 04/09/2008, -0/+4Who wouldn't if you had the money though? honestly?

    Although this new commercial 'space race' is a bit lame, i think that the idea itself is amazing. Lets hope that in the future its standard for anyone who has to travel........maybe thats just me.
  • jemka, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2And the ability to take off.
  • Sagags, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2they are going to go back in time to beat nasa to the moon?
  • chilipepr, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2Looks suspiciously like Xenu's DC-10s. Failentology!
  • supermanred, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2Can we start with the Lawyers and middle men first?
  • Xondar, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2If you're going from Paris to Japan, you're in for a very long airplane trip. With a suborbital flight, the trip would take a few hours instead of tens of hours. Essentially, it'll be like flying in the Concorde, except far faster.

    It's also the first step toward fully fledged orbital and trans orbital space flight for the billions on non-astronauts in the world.
  • citizenchan, on 04/09/2008, -0/+1wtf are you talking about?
  • dracostimpy, on 04/09/2008, -0/+1http://digg.com/users/dracostimpy/gallery/6051588/ ...
  • SweetChinMusic, on 04/09/2008, -4/+5Well, it was called the XP . . .
  • moolf, on 04/09/2008, -1/+2Houston...
  • Culyt, on 04/11/2008, -0/+1Unfortunately it doesn't get people off the planet for too long (unless it explodes).
    Need something more long term, a moon/mars base would be cool.
  • isunktheship, on 04/09/2008, -2/+3Maybe it's being piloted by Rocketplaneman...
  • Xondar, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1If I was a billionaire, I'd seriously bankroll them. Anything that gets people off this little planet and out into space is worth it in my opinion.
  • petebot, on 04/09/2008, -1/+2They need to start up an X Prize for FTL drives!
  • Millsee, on 04/09/2008, -0/+1Probably won't need the flames "painting" on it...

  • Enasni1212, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1*blinks*

    Huh?
  • mal1964, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1Where is that funny shaped shadow on the wing coming from?
  • kevinsboy, on 04/09/2008, -0/+1This is the lamest most unimaginative name for a spacecraft/ plane....... ever... ... ...
  • counterplex, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1$10 says Zefram Cochrane wins it...
  • supermanred, on 04/10/2008, -1/+1Why in heaven's name would you call it an XP? It's going to crash at least once a week! Death trap!
  • agentshiro, on 04/09/2008, -1/+0Yea, sometimes my rocket fails to launch too.
  • B3N3, on 04/09/2008, -3/+1I'd bet that commercial spacecraft land on Mars before NASA does..the moon too, for that matter...
  • Einchy, on 04/09/2008, -6/+3Phail.

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