The Space Review: Will rocket racing help us get into orbit?

Last Monday in New York, the Rocket Racing League (RRL) introduced the first of what they expect will be ten teams of rocket pilots who will be racing a new version of XCOR’s EZ-Rocket, with a more powerful rocket engine fueled by LOX and kerosene, sometime in 2007. This exhaust from this engine will produce a visually stunning six-meter-long yellow flame that should provide quite a show. If all goes as planned, the first Mark-1 X-Racer is now being built by Velocity Aircraft in Florida and will make its debut sometime this autumn.