Space1 in the USA is progressing with concept, design, construction, and testing of a new booster rocket and spacecraft glider. The booster is a vertical deployment with enough diameter and mechanical mounts to support multiple arrays of surrounding gliders.
At apogee during the mission, the gliders release at the same time, maintaining gyro equilibrium to the booster, then follow glide flight paths back to earth. Circular glide paths absorb kinetic energy to reduce speed to safe levels.Illustration: Artist concept of Space1's Booster Glider
Each glider spacecraft can support 1 or many astronauts, depending on configuration. First Envisions (tm), a division of Space1, has allocated 3 periphery gliders on one booster arranged in triequilibrium.
A reusable boost keeps space flights and missions as low cost as possible and potentially affordable to the space tourism industry.
Scaling flights are slated for summer of 2015 over the USA at Space1's Rocket Space Port.
LINKS
http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.com/2015/01/space1-links-in-january-2015.html