Private rocket company SpaceX is about to attempt a launch of its next spacecraft, the new Falcon 9. One of the private rocketeers that might soon supplant or even replace the U.S. manned space program, SpaceX wants to use the Falcon 9 to eventually launch humans into space. For now, weather permitting, the company needs to get Falcon 9 through its first unmanned test flight.

The visionaries at Armadillo Aerospace have some big ideas. The most outrageous is this "Fishbowl Spaceship," giving two passengers a spectacular 360-degree view of suborbital space. The company, founded by iD software (Doom, Quake) chief John Carmack, plans to...