The Rutans are at it again, this time with a pair of new spacecraft that use sub-orbital vehicles to position the orbiter at high altitude and speed, like a giant piggy back ride.
A funny note about this: I remember looking at some of the materials my father had during his work with the DOD and NASA during the 80's and 90's. There were a number of groups (including the Europeans) that were promoting this approach as an alternative to the rocket-turned-lander approach of the Space Shuttle. Good to know it only took 20 years to come around to the right solution.
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