Reusable Rockets: Space Travel's 'Holy Grail' Almost Here

The Holy Grail of rocketry looks more and more achievable. Last Monday (Nov. 23), the private spaceflight company Blue Origin sent a rocket to suborbital space and brought it back down for a controlled touchdown in West Texas. These accomplishments show that developing fully and rapidly reusable rockets — a key innovation that could slash the cost of spaceflight — is far from a pipe dream, advocates say.