Back in the late 50s, early 60s, there were some nuclear tests in space which involved hauling a rocket to a great height via balloon, then launching the rocket - Friend of mine who lived in Hawaii at the time remembers seeing a night-time test - At a line of sight distance of something like 500 miles... reards, Jack > I heard some interesting theories some time ago about a large wedge shaped > balloon that was meant to be, quite literally, flown to very high altitude > then used to launch an orbiting station. It was actually more of a dirigible > (which have always fascinated me) for very high altitude flight. Don't > remember the exact link, but they were building a small version in a huge > hanger. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist