But, hey, if it was, no one would bother to shell out a couple hundred thousand for the real thing, right?

Chuck Lauer of Rocketplane emails that they have a streaming video of a computer-generated movie of one of their suborbital flights over at Pure Galactic (apparently a new spaceline on the block). I was surprised to see that the modified Learjet has a "V" tail.

He's interested in comments on the soundtrack. It's a little too new agey and native Americany for my taste, and the musical transitions don't evoke the visual ones to me. But what do I know?

The video is good, but the music sounds like they got it for free. How about Aerosmith? The opening for Sweet Emotion would sound great as the airplane is rolling down the runway and about to take off. Then again, it might cost some $$$...

The soundtrack resembles what I've heard the soundtracks to adult films sound like. From, you know, what people tell me.

I like Rand's rock n' roll suggestion better. Or something orchestral, classical.. Beethoven's sixth perhaps.

The airplane looks cute enough. Might be fun to ride in. Not at the price they're asking, but maybe later. How far does it go, anyway?

I don't think I said anything about rock'n'roll...

I just said what I didn't like, not what I did.

Sorry, forgot to answer your question. It goes a hundred miles up into space, and back. It doesn't go very far other than that--it lands the same place it takes off. It's an experience, not a point-to-point trip. You'd see the blackness of space, the curvature of the earth, and experience several minutes of weightlessness (not to mention the gee forces during thrust, and entry).

"Kiss the Sky" By J Hendricks?

"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" by Pink Floyd?

"Flight of Icarus" by Iron Maiden?

Yeah, you need some electric guitar for the rocket engines...

Well, actually, what I had in mind for rocket engines was...wait for it...rocket engines. It doesn't have to be all music. I'd stop the music when the engines fire up, and have the sound (increase the dB a few notches) of rocket engines, and then when the engines cut off, silence for a few seconds. Then softly segue into some aerie faerie music as everyone is grooving on weightlessness and the vistas of the earth below.

Geez, I should be charging Chuck for this stuff.

"Fist of Fire" (Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe)

More importantly, would you go into space with a pilot that couldn't keep on the centerline better than that?

And did they just decide not to show the aerial oxidizer transfer, or have they given up on that?

It's 100 km up, not 100 miles. It's still far enough to see the Gulf of Mexico 400 miles away.

As for charging Chuck, you can keep my share of what goes into the tip jar.

Loose thtat music. Were those horses I heard? Blah.

Rock in roll might be okay. I'd say something classical - Bach or Bruckner for choice. Or a mix - rock and or roll for liftoff, soothing Bach for mid-flight, dramatic and jazzy for touch down

No need for propellant transfer for a suborbital flight.

Let us all agree: No Kenny Loggins!

I'm surprised that there are only two windows for the passengers, very cool though, this will be close enough for me to drive to. Now I just need to win the lottery to buy a ticket.

I just had a flashback of the 'Magic Carpet Ride' scene of the Titan-launched warpship from 'Star Trek: First Contact.'

One wonders if they'll allow personal audio devices (preferably solid-state ones (presumably more acceleration-tolerant), as opposed to disc players) so passengers can listen to their own preferred launch theme...?

Scratch 'Kiss the Sky', that should have been correctly titled "Purple Haze".

Video: ok, but not spectacular. Music: BLEAH!!!!

What something like this needs is music that suggests power and majesty. I'd suggest Holsts "Mars, the Bringer of War," or Vangelis's "Conquest of Paradise" from "1492." Some new music in that vein would be good too. What they currently have is *annoying* New Age crap.

Heck, even the "Darth Vader" theme from Empire Strikes Back would be a vast improvement...