An Arrow flies through the air...

Canadian News is reporting that the Canadian Arrow completed a successful drop test of their crew cabin Saturday. Further tests are planned, including a test of the launch escape system, and no launch date has yet been set. It's nice to see other teams forging ahead despite the wide lead currently enjoyed by Scaled Composites and their SpaceShip One.

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Equally interesting is that Estes Rockets is coming out with a line of models based on the competitors for the X-Prize, including a model of the Arrow, and of the Rubicon. (From the link, click on 'new' to see a clickable list of models. Warning, the site is based on (quite annoying) Flash.)

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Update: 10:30AM PST

This one has been kicking around in my bookmarks for a couple of weeks, and it's a good place to drop it in;

• Just as Estes inspired many a budding rocketeer, so did the Tom Swift and Tom Swift Jr. books across the decades. Here Jim Lileks gives his own sarcastic spin to the cover art of those books. It's worth remembering that our common dream isn't always widely held or regarded one.
  
  
• A Slashdot discussion of the Canadian Arrow project.