...the first step towards loading George W. Bush into a rocket and shooting him into the sun.

Interesting. It won't be long until people are taking commercial flights to space, I bet. Can't be more then twenty years away.

Interesting. It won't be long until people are taking commercial flights to space, I bet. Can't be more then twenty years away.

I don't know about that. People used to think that by the 80s we'd have flying cars. Then there's the issue of cost, too. I don't think anyone outside of millionaires would be able to foot the bill for a sightseeing trip in space.

My children's children will be dead before the average human being can take a trip to space. Failing a massive environmental catastrophe that is.

There's promise in using magnetic rail-gun like launching rails to propel shuttles into low orbit, where they could then use their rockets to get higher. It's still a long ways off, but it's one theory.

Yeah they're considering flying a superfine metallic cord into space and tethering it there. One would think you'd be opposed to that, though, Kas. God after all wasn't pleased the last time we built a stairway to heaven.

I personally don't think a cable would be a feasible idea. There's going to be a lot of stress on it.

That's why it's only possible now. These superstrong fibers or whatever.

Massive magnetic railguns. Oh, there's no chance of something going wrong with that...

The article I read described it as a suped up bullet-train, with a shuttle piggybacking on it. A dozen miles of track, or so. The bullet train speeds up, and then the shuttle is released with enough velocity to get pretty high, at which point its primary thrusters are engaged..