I’ve long daydreamed of my own personal ballistic transportation missile, that could whisk me anywhere on the globe in a matter of minutes. That dream is now one step closer to reality. Effective June 5, 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is amending its commercial space transportation regulations under the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004, to establish application requirements for an operator of a manned or unmanned reusable suborbital rocket to obtain an experimental permit. The FAA is also establishing operating requirements and restrictions on launch and reentry of reusable suborbital rockets operated under a permit.
I think the companies that are commercializing space transportation are missing a golden opportunity. Instead of blasting their customers into space and then returning them to the same spot a few minutes later, they should blast off from Arizona, and then land in Australia a few minutes later. Now THAT would be cool…!