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http://www.spacedaily.com/news/rocketscience-02o.html
Also note a link to a scramjet article on the sides!
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On your right margins is the article about an australian scramjet,
On the left margins in "Dragon Space" which has an article saying the Chinese might launch Shenzue 4 sometime this september
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The article didn't seem to indicate if these space highways could only be utilized when the planets are in favorable positions. I'm wondering if you have to wait for certain windows to open in order to visit the planets you want or if these "highways" can be used in various configurations that make waiting for launch windows obsolete. Anyways, it's a shame what happened to the Japanese scramjet. These future passenger jets look like an intermediate step to actually being able to launch a passenger jet into orbit itself. I never thought I'd see the day when someone seriously proposed bolting detachable rocket boosters to passenger planes. It's an encouraging sign if the bugs can be worked out.
To achieve the impossible you must attempt the absurd
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I just wanted to clear up some confusion that's been going on in this thread:
1) There are two different projects going on at Woomera: the Australian HyShot scramjet and the Japanese NEXST supersonic transport.
2) The full-scale NEXST will not be rocket boosted if it is ever built. It will take off and land in the same way any other airliner would. The test that ended in embarassing failure was used to push a 1:10 scale model to supersonic speeds to determine the airworthiness of the design and to measure the effects (if any) of the plane's sonic boom. Fortunately, the plane was relatively intact, and it will hopefully fly again.
Hope this answered any questions the members may have.
"I'm not much of a 'hands-on' evil scientist."--Dr. Evil, "Goldmember"
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