Hasta La Gadget!

Deep down, NASA scientists–all scientists, really–get into this business to blow stuff up. No one’s really watching Mythbusters to learn about the physics of how a cup of jello handles a ride down an escalator in a humid room. We watch to see things go kablooey in the presence of high-speed cameras which allow the kablooey to be looped time and time again in all its kablooable glory.

That’s why NASA engineers must have been in science kablooey nerd heaven yesterday as they tested the monstrous DM-2 rocket in the Utah desert. The DM-2 is the world’s largest, most powerful solid rocket motor and is designed to provide up to 3.6 million pounds of thrust. That means if it wanted to, the DM-2 could punch God in the face. The rocket is slated for use as a heavy-lifter in 2015.

To be sure, the thrust and power of the DM-2 is very impressive. But in this day and age, I was kind of hoping NASA (or private industry) might have created a more practical means of transport into space? Anything happening with that Space Elevator concept? Anyone else disappointed that in 2010 we’d still be testing bigger and bigger Godzilla rockets?

Very loud rocket test video after the jump.