Commercial space is getting busy, with innovative designs. Jeff Bezos hasn’t sought the spotlight like some companies, but it is hard to hide a rocket launch; so, they released the video. Congratulations! It flew!. One part landed safely. One part didn’t. For a first flight, that is impressive. It was an up-and-down flight, up to 98km then back down, not an orbit; but a good start. The plan is for commercial operations in 2017, and with much bigger rockets carrying much bigger payloads. One caution, you may giggle at the shape. It is a rather phallic rocket. So it goes.
“Jeff Bezos Co. Launches Surprise Test Of Private Spaceship” – Scientific American
Pretending Not To Panic 