Bama Brian wrote:

:It takes more than space launches, Rand. Right now, Indian launches are
:done on one-shot "ballistic" rockets whose technology is copied from
ther countries.

So do China, Japan, and just pretty much the entire rest of the
planet, Brian.

:What is needed is a reusable launch vehicle that
:doesn't require five metric tons of rupees to rebuild it by hand each
:time it is used. That's something that nobody has as yet. Even the
:Soviet shuttle was just a copy of our own.

Preposterous! The idea that the Soviet Buran is a 'copy' of the US
Shuttle has been exploded so many times that it is difficult to credit
that anyone could still believe it.

You might want to compa

1) Launch vehicles.

2) Crew size.

3) On-board engines.

Then you might want to consider that the general shape is pretty much
dictated by the requirements.

--
"Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the
truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong."
-- Thomas Jefferson