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Remote spaceport damaged by rocket malfunctions on Astra Space test flights [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the development of reusable rocket engines powerful enough to fly a suborbital space plane from London, England to Sydney, Australia in four hours. Topics include the development and testing of a hydrogen-and-air-burning engine, called Sabre, by Reaction Engines of Culham in Oxfordshire, England, Sabre's key technological features, such as a chiller that processes air to burn with hydrogen, and advances in pulse jet engine technology.

The article discusses the space transport services company SpaceX and its creation of landing legs for rockets as of April 2014. SpaceX plans to send a capsule to the International Space Station and return the rocket that launched the capsule back to earth in order to test the landing legs, which would enable rockets to be reused through safely landing on Earth, significantly lowering the cost of spacecraft.

The article discusses the test launch of a rocket manufactured by Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Virginia, called Antares, on April 21, 2013 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia.