Once upon a time, Elko T   said:   
   >If winged    
   >takeoff to orbit is ever achieved, it would have to be a piggyback   
   >system, where    
   >the base is a ginormous flying wing carrier that takes off and accelerates to    
   >supersonic as high in the stratosphere as it can   
      
   Now you've again re-invented the original Shuttle design. :-)  The   
   original concept was a fly-back booster stage, but it didn't pan out.   
      
   >   Isn't that because the shuttle was too big? If it was only for people    
   >transport, it could be made much smaller and sturdier.   
      
   I don't know how much you can shrink down a delta-wing vehicle and still   
   carry a good number of people, supplies, engines, fuel cells, etc., to   
   last for at least a week or two.   
   --    
   Chris Adams    
   Systems and Network Administrator - HiWAAY Internet Services   
   I don't speak for anybody but myself - that's enough trouble.   
   --- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32   
    * Origin: Time Warp of the Future BBS - Home of League 10 (1:14/400)