Blue Origin

A couple of days ago Jeff Bezos announced details and video about about the first flight of their new rocket. It sounds like it's a prototype of a sub-orbital tourist rocket. Ho, hum, been there done that. Right?

Possibly.

A couple of years ago there was a serialized story called "The Rocket Company" by Patrick J. G. Stiennon & David M. Hoerr. Unfortunately, it's no longer available online, but you can buy it from Amazon (here is some info about it).

What struck me when I saw the pictures and video of Goddard is how similar it is to the description of the second stage of the rocket described in the book. The rocket in the book consists of a hybrid first stage that uses both jet engines and rockets to climb vertically. Once above most of the atmosphere, the second stage would separate and gain the speed needed to reach orbit, while the first would return for a vertical landing.

I wonder if something like that is Blue Origin's plan or is it just a coincidence in design.