For Danny Davis, building rockets, "to make rocket dreams a reality" as he puts it, has been his life for more than a decade.

CNN: R O C K E T M A N

Later this year a rocket incorporating the new motor will make an attempt on the UK rocket altitude record, which stands at 10, 540 m (34, 579 ft) and is held by the Mars group.

BBC: Hybrid success for British rocket

He said a reusable rocket could make space launches 100 times cheaper.

CNN: Elon Musk: Our future in space depends on reusable rockets

Oxygen could be derived from ilmanite reserves there and water could be extracted to make rocket fuel or sustain life on a base.

CNN: Mining the moon for a nuclear future

If a couple of mutual funds suddenly decided to make a serious investment, the country's exchange rate could rocket, starting an unsustainable boom in the property and banking sector, and causing havoc for exporters.

ECONOMIST: It all depends

And even if Volt sales were to rocket this year, it would make up just a fraction of the overall sales climb expected during 2011, when US carmakers predict some 13 million cars will be sold.

BBC: US drivers revive gas guzzler love affair

It begins with an evocative description of George Stephenson's Rocket, a famous early steam engine, and traces the developments needed to make each of its individual components possible.

ECONOMIST: Why it started in Britain