I think in Star Trek Enterprise there was a scene where they did basically that. Shakedown cruise for a new warp-capable ship, try going from Earth to Neptune in 10 minutes

That's X-38, but yes

What's Starliner? Never heard of it

Anyway I'm excited for more PLS flights, maybe by 2005 once Freedom assembly is finished they might even fund the lunar variant

It sure was chunky

I haven't seen it, but let me know if you find it. The only ABL future stuff I've seen was for X-63A (RS1 with an aerospike)

Bell nozzles would've looked cool. DC-Y also eventually switched to that (but I still kept the aerospike for my renders)

Also when'd you change your name? I like it

That spin config concerns me. If docking fails, you end up either in a tiny can for months (probably starve long before then) or in a larger space but unable to get to your reentry vehicle

Why not just keep the S-II attached and use that as a counterweight (for a flyby)?

*checks what I titled the picture* Yes, I think friendship was what I had in mind. They may even be roommates

More

The explosion effect kinda sucks because I did this 3 years ago, but

Some are available here www.cgtrader.com/3d-models?hi...

Yes

Been a while since I read the books but don't they also cause some horrible degenerative disease to even be near?

A twi'lek baddie could've fixed him

For an RLV, propellant *should* be >50% of the operating cost of the vehicle (and F9 stage 1 has demonstrated this to be achievable), so this is a problem

I kinda doubt there will ever be an SSTO. The only justification they ever had was the hope that it'd be easier to develop one spacecraft than two, and be easier to refurbish one than two. Both assumptions now look wrong, and physics dictates that an SSTO will need more propellant per payload