World's Most Powerful Rocket Ready in 2012, SpaceX Says

World's Most Powerful Rocket Ready in 2012, SpaceX SaysThe era of the Space Shuttle is ending. And SpaceX plans to take over.Elon Musk, the millionaire founder of private space company Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX for short) said the long planned Falcon Heavy vehicle would be ready for liftoff at the end of 2012. The rocket, which he called the most powerful in the world, would be capable of taking men to the International Space Station, dropping vehicles and astronauts on the moon -- and maybe even cruising to Mars and back."This is a rocket of truly huge scale," Musk said at a press conference unveiling the rocket. "With...

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Gates to discuss Arab upheaval with Saudi king

Gates to discuss Arab upheaval with Saudi kingDefense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in the Saudi capital Wednesday for talks with King Abdullah on coping with the political upheaval sweeping the Arab world, blunting Iranian efforts to exploit the unrest, and upgrading the kingdom's defenses against Iranian missiles. In a sign of the depth of the Obama administration's concern about the political earthquake that has shaken the region, including the island of Bahrain off Saudi Arabia's Persian Gulf coast, this was Gates' third trip to the area in the past month. He has echoed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's cautioning...

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