A rational space policy would, second, minimize the cost of putting payloads in space.

The new rocket could lead to drastic cuts in the cost of putting payloads into space.

There have been proposals to use tethers (commonly referred to as skyhooks) to put suborbital payloads into orbit.

NASA hopes to learn if tethers can be used for purposes like putting payloads into low Earth orbits from the space shuttle.

These failures grounded the nation's fleet of big launchers, temporarily ending the ability of the United States to put large payloads into space.

In the last nine months, there have been six significant failures of United States rockets trying to put civilian and military payloads into orbit.

President Reagan's new space policy, which bars NASA from putting most commercial payloads on shuttle flights, would appear to give a green light to private launching efforts.

Meanwhile, such private American companies as General Dynamics and Martin Marietta have come that much closer to the day they will put payloads into orbit.

These failures combined to temporarily end the nation's ability to put large payloads into space.

"Baby Babylon" could not have put payloads into orbit, but it would have had an international, perhaps intercontinental range.