https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/p...hour-g5fmb7jrt
Pentagon rocket plan to send supplies anywhere in an hour
A test flight of a rocket designed to deliver cargo anywhere in the world within an hour has been given the go-ahead by the US air force.
The rocket, carrying a payload of up to 100 tonnes, equivalent to that of a large C-17 transport aircraft, would take off on a trajectory that takes it to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere before looping down to a projected landing spot.
The rocket could also carry people to remote destinations but initially the idea is to create a superfast delivery service, particularly for special operations troops serving in “austere” environments.
The US air force budget proposals for next year include nearly $48 million for the rocket cargo programme to allow weapons, ammunition and other essentials to be sent to forces wherever in the world they are deployed in the shortest possible time.
The rockets are designed to be reusable and testing of two commercially built systems is expected to begin next year.
Two companies — SpaceX, founded by the billionaire Elon Musk, and Exploration Architecture Corporation, founded in 2007 by the space architect Sam Ximenes — are involved in developing the concept.….
One of the main difficulties now is working out how a cargo, typically in the rocket’s nose, can be quickly unloaded in hostile conditions. There are also questions about how close to buildings or people a rocket would be able to land and what kind of terrain would make a suitable landing zone.
It has been suggested that cargo could be dropped by parachute without the rocket having to land…..