Artist concept of the Sea Dragon in the water. Aerojet via Astronautix.
Imagine standing among the small crowd in a viewing gallery aboard a command ship floating 35 miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral. Five miles away you see the upper portion of a rocket bobbing gently, waves lapping at the fuselage. Though isolated at sea there’s a buzz of activity in the air. The conversation on board is punctuated by a loudspeaker booming status updates on the rocket in the water. Finally, an announcement crackles saying that the Cape has given a GO for launch. With NASA’s blessing, the launch director on board begins the final countdown. You hear a distant rumble as a massive engine roars to life under water and gets progressively louder as the rocket starts to rise. In just seconds the staggering, 400-foot behemoth leaves the ocean and disappears from view into the sky. ...
