The Pentagon's plan to put robot Marines in space

Yep, a suborbital "mothership" was involved

SpaceShipOne
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Courtesy Mojave Aerospace))

Roosevelt Lafontant had a dream. A Marine Corps officer assigned to the National Reconnaissance Office at the Pentagon, Lafontant had a back-row seat in late 2001 as the Marines spearheaded the invasion of landlocked Afghanistan. To reach Kandahar from their assault ships, the Marines had to fly more than 400 miles over Pakistan in rickety, heavy-lift helicopters. "There's got to be a better way," Lafontant recalled thinking.

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