Halfway to Anywhere

This is a must-read for any thinking person. The author charts the course for the future, and exposes the foibles of the past and present. The title will become apropos in the first 40 pages. I have been reading his works since 1959, and consider this man to be one of the unrecognized visionaries of our time. There is no escaping the truths in this work, even if you work for NASA and its subcontractors, as I have. No book offers more promise for the future of safe and routine space flight without mental flights of fancy better than this one. I hope to meet this author one day. Harry still has it!

I enjoyed this book very much and although it rants and raves a bit it delivers a strong message. Unfortunately the Delta Clipper was recently destroyed when a landing gear failed. Luckily several other companies seem interested in SSTO's so there is always hope.

"Halfway to Anywhere" provides an interesting history of a very current subject matter in modern technology, namely the "Reusable Launch Vehicle" (SSTO, etc). The book provides the necessary science background, and proceeds to tell of the development of the SSTO concept and the related X-vehicle programs that have been getting increased attention of late. A good portion of the book is spent describing recent developments and how they have been "molded" by organizational egos, political maneuvering, and power plays, by everyone including industry, NASA, Congress, the DOD, and various "interest groups". As an engineer and researcher myself, I often found it tempting to sit back and snicker with an anti-establishment attitude at what often appears to be unwise or biased decisions that were not for the "better good" of our country. This said, I think that the reader must bear in mind that there is usually more than one side to an issue, and rarely will they be justly told by the same source. While originally scoffed at, as Stine's history unfolds, the SSTO concept becomes generally accepted. A degree of reconciliation develops between the various "factions", though a distinct "I told you so" attitude in the book's wording occasionally distracts the reader from the most effective message of the book, namely the importance of this work, both technologically, and economically. In short, Stine gives a sometimes-biased, though always interesting account of what the subject of Reusable Launch Vehicles is all about (at least at present). Perhaps more importantly, he tells us WHY we should care, particularly in light of the relatively small costs, and the potentially large return on investment. Of course it must continue to be done "correctly", and not evolve into a thinly disguised "technical jobs program" that produces little more than paper at the cost of billions.

In twenty-five years, aeronautics progressed from the plywood 'Spruce Goose' to the 747. Twenty-five years have passed since the Space Shuttle was designed. Isn't it time for a Next Generation shuttle? G. Harry Stine says yes. In the next five years -- not twenty-five -- we can build a reusable rocket that carries passengers into space as cheaply as jets span continents today. If you've dreamt of exploring "Infinity -- and Beyond!", don't join the astronaut corps -- and hold off fantasizing about Star Trek. Read this book, and prepare for the very real and sooner-than-you-thought age of private citizens venturing into the Final Frontier