[demosthenes the elder]

the aerospike is lab and field proven, has been tested in the (something)Clipper project, and works really well.

[anobjectivist]

Ah, thanks. I remember seeing a couple of test firings of the engine on the NASA website.

[NightWriter]

<< the aerospike is lab and field proven, has been tested in the (Delta) Clipper project, and works really well >>

A linear aerospike was the intended powerplant of the Lockheed SSTO (single-stage to orbit) demonstrator known as the VentureStar (AKA X-33), a program that was cancelled in March, 2001 by NASA after years of delays owing, in part, to problems in the development of its ultra-lightweight.composite cryogenic fuel tanks.

Whether its supporters succeeded in convincing the Bush administration to revive the program as an Air Force special project is unknown at this time, but the fact that the Joint Chiefs have an Air Force general as their chief for the first time strongly suggests that the clout necessary to make this happen is not lacking.