Well, it _was_ when we picked up a few months ago at a junkyard for $150. No paperwork, no clearances, no approval required. Sure, it had no motor, guidance or warhead, but you get my point. No, we wouldn't sell it now. And yes, I realize a Nike isn't an ICBM, but it's not even an order of magnitude away.

Cost wouldn't be prohibitive if somebody wanted to build something roughly equivalent in their garage, using readily availible materials and tools. Heck, hundreds of people build their own airplane each year, and rockets are simpler than planes.

What are we doing with it? We're restoring it to museum quality. After we're done looking at it and admiring it's sleek lines, we'll loan it to a deserving museum for display.

And while it may be true that it's gotten more difficult to get FAA clearances to launch these days, it's not impossibly difficult, or so I'm told. I'll know shortly, I'm planning an amateur launch/testing event in April. Ky Michaelson has a space shot scheduled in November, and JPAerospace launched a space attempt last weekend.

Ray