.JPG)
Since visiting the first test facilities at Peenemuende, notwithstanding the occasional pleasant afternoon at the local airshow, I have a renewed fascination with rocketry. The excellent museum there tempered science with war-waging and was thoughtful but not in an overly preachy way. German engineers at the National Aerospace Center have successfully developed a new sharp rocket that is poised to revolutionize space travel--all for a paltry 12 million euro. The new, reusable space glider is much more manueverable, and manages to guide itself safely back to Earth. Its faceted nose-cone makes it especially resilient and resistant to the heat of reentry.
In related news, the Russian space agency, with no shortage of ambitious missions waiting in the wings, will slowly vacate its cosmodrome at Baikonur, since while the whole region benefited from Soviet investment in space infrastructure, the cosmodrome is fully in Kazahk territory which Russia leases at a high price. A bigger and better space port will be built in the Russian far east at Vostochny near the Chinese border and the city of Harbin.
