Free Republic

India successfully launched a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday, a project that in time could pit the nation against billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in the race to make access to space cheaper and easier. The winged vessel -- one-fifth of full size -- blasted off on a rocket from Sriharikota base on the southeastern coast, the Indian Space Research Organisation said. The spacecraft reached an altitude of 65 kilometers (40 miles) and glided back at supersonic speeds for a splashdown in the Bay of Bengal. The test took about 13 minutes.

Boeing Co. wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep something in mind as he looks to turn India into a defense manufacturing powerhouse: Size matters. With Modi planning to spend $150 billion to modernize military equipment over the next decade, the world's largest aerospace company sees an opportunity to grow its presence in India. Boeing lost out in 2012 to smaller French rival Dassault Aviation in what was then the biggest fighter-jet deal on record. "If India wants to jump start an aerospace economy, do you want to do that with Dassault -- that's about a $5 billion company --...