Bravo to the SpaceShipOne team!

[Rolavine]

Private Rocket Recovers, Enters Space
SpaceShipOne Climbs to Unofficial Altitude 62 Miles on Quest for $10 Million
Prize

SpaceShipOne, with astronaut Michael Melvill at the controls, climbed to an
unofficial altitude of more than 330,000 feet, about 2,000 feet above its
target altitude of 62 miles.

Way to go!
Bravo!

 

[Jeroen Belleman]

Rich Grise wrote:

On Wednesday 29 September 2004 10:47 am, Rolavine did deign to grace us with
the following:
[...] The feat was accomplished with a total investment of little more
than $20 million ? a far cry from the billions spent by NASA to develop
space vehicles.
----------------

Now, what was somebody saying about government funding?

Tut tut. There's quite a difference in making a 60 mile hop
and getting into orbit. If they can stay up there for a few
days, then we're talking!

Jeroen

 

[Rich Grise]

On Thursday 30 September 2004 12:16 am, Jeroen Belleman did deign to grace
us with the following:

Rich Grise wrote:
On Wednesday 29 September 2004 10:47 am, Rolavine did deign to grace us
with the following:
[...] The feat was accomplished with a total investment of little more
than $20 million ? a far cry from the billions spent by NASA to develop
space vehicles.
----------------

Now, what was somebody saying about government funding?


Tut tut. There's quite a difference in making a 60 mile hop
and getting into orbit. If they can stay up there for a few
days, then we're talking!

True, but there is some serious money getting involved, like

the guy that owns Virgin Atlantic has started Virgin Galactic.

Way cool name. They're still suborbital, but the rest is
basically engineering.

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

On Thursday 30 September 2004 04:06 am, Pat Ford did deign to grace us with
the following:

"Clarence" <no@No.com> wrote in message
news:9%O6d.21767$QJ3.11520@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...

"One small step for man in space,
one giant leap for commercialization of space travel?" })

"One small step for man in space,
one giant leap for very rich men {)

Not necessarily. Isaac Asimov wrote about his parents, who were immigrants.
He said that a lot of people rode a boat from Europe to The New World, and
most of them didn't know the first thing about shipbuilding, sailing, cargo
lading, and all that stuff that you need to sail a boat - all you need is
a ticket. ;-)

A ticket on the first airplanes after the Wright Bros. was probably an
equivalent amount in those days. (the guy's charging $190,000.00 for a 4-
hour space ride. This will come down.)

Cheers!
Rich

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Dirk Bruere at Neopax
<dirk@neopax.com> wrote (in <2s2u4qF1evsofU2@uni-berlin.de&gt about
'Bravo to the SpaceShipOne team!', on Thu, 30 Sep 2004:

The US govt does not want cheap civilian space travel.
They foresee Bin Laden up there tossing down rocks.

You may be right that the US govt. does, but it's fantasy. Consider how
to get the stuff up there in the first place, and then the accuracy of
nay such bombardment. You'd be lucky to hit the right hemisphere.
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
The good news is that nothing is compulsory.
The bad news is that everything is prohibited.
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Rich Grise <null@example.net>
wrote (in <GFX6d.14247$Ym1.1330@trnddc03&gt about 'Bravo to the
SpaceShipOne team!', on Thu, 30 Sep 2004:

True, but there is some serious money getting involved, like the guy
that owns Virgin Atlantic has started Virgin Galactic.

Way cool name. They're still suborbital, but the rest is basically
engineering.

He's milking it for all it's worth. (;-)
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
The good news is that nothing is compulsory.
The bad news is that everything is prohibited.
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

 

The US govt does not want cheap civilian space travel.
They foresee Bin Laden up there tossing down rocks.

You may be right that the US govt. does, but it's fantasy. Consider how to
get the stuff up there in the first place, and then the accuracy of nay such
bombardment. You'd be lucky to hit the right hemisphere. --

What bombardment? Get up there and take out the satellites and the US military is out of business.

Mark

 

In <3h9pl096a8tudbpj7m1i883s14su55254p@4ax.com>, on 09/30/04 at 08:35 PM,
Spehro Pefhany <speffSNIP@interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> said:

Some rusty nails in a retrograde orbit would deny the use of space to
everyone for quite some time.

Excellent! Of course all we have to do is pass a law to make such an action
illegal, and once that happens, no one will do it.........


Mark

 

[Rolavine]

From: Rich Grise null@example.net

(the guy's charging $190,000.00 for a 4-
hour space ride. This will come down.)

Was that a pun?

 

[Rolavine]

From: Dirk Bruere at Neopax

The US govt does not want cheap civilian space travel.
They foresee Bin Laden up there tossing down rocks.

Are you kidding, not only can they can come in from Mexico for $50 they can
also start working at a taco bell the same day!

 

[Rich Grise]

On Thursday 30 September 2004 12:17 pm, John Woodgate did deign to grace us
with the following:

I read in sci.electronics.design that Rich Grise <null@example.net
wrote (in <GFX6d.14247$Ym1.1330@trnddc03&gt about 'Bravo to the
SpaceShipOne team!', on Thu, 30 Sep 2004:

True, but there is some serious money getting involved, like the guy
that owns Virgin Atlantic has started Virgin Galactic.

Way cool name. They're still suborbital, but the rest is basically
engineering.

He's milking it for all it's worth. (;-)
--
It'd be really interesting to see his waiting list.

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Don Pearce]

On 29 Sep 2004 17:47:42 GMT, rolavine@aol.com (Rolavine) wrote:

Private Rocket Recovers, Enters Space
SpaceShipOne Climbs to Unofficial Altitude 62 Miles on Quest for $10 Million
Prize

SpaceShipOne, with astronaut Michael Melvill at the controls, climbed to an
unofficial altitude of more than 330,000 feet, about 2,000 feet above its
target altitude of 62 miles.

Way to go!
Bravo!

All they need to do now is find a way of carrying another 16,000 mph
of delta vee up there and they are in business. A Saturn V ought to
just about do it.

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

 

[Rich Grise]

On Monday 04 October 2004 01:42 pm, Don Pearce did deign to grace us with
the following:

On 29 Sep 2004 17:47:42 GMT, rolavine@aol.com (Rolavine) wrote:

Private Rocket Recovers, Enters Space
SpaceShipOne Climbs to Unofficial Altitude 62 Miles on Quest for $10
Million Prize

SpaceShipOne, with astronaut Michael Melvill at the controls, climbed to
an unofficial altitude of more than 330,000 feet, about 2,000 feet above
its target altitude of 62 miles.

Way to go!
Bravo!

All they need to do now is find a way of carrying another 16,000 mph
of delta vee up there and they are in business. A Saturn V ought to
just about do it.

Don't forget, they've got something on the order of 500 lb. cargo capacity.

It wouldn't take much of a "third stage" to insert into LEO, I'd think.

And when you say, "another 16,000 mph delta vee", you haven't mentioned
just how much delta vee it took to get to 100 KM in the first place.

How much would that be then, just so us slugs can compare numbers?

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Winfield Hill]

Don Pearce wrote...

That first bit doesn't matter. The problem is that they arrive at
orbital altitude with no better than Mach 3 (and probably a lot less,
because they are ballistic at this point) of velocity. To achieve
orbit they need another 16,000mph. That is the required delta vee at
that point, and the fuel to achieve it has to be carried up there.
That is why rockets are so big. Most of the fuel they carry is used in
carrying the rest of the fuel aloft.

It isn't rocket science ;-)

Actually it is. I'm sure it's the first bit of theory an amateur
rocketeer learns when getting serious. And the relevant formulas
were the very first thing we were taught in one of my classes in
the JPL spacecraft engineering curriculum I took at Cal Tech.


--
Thanks,
- Win

(email: use hill_at_rowland-dotties-org for now)

 

[James Beck]

In article <4166a700.202194609@news.plus.net>, donald@pearce.uk.com
says...

Exactly, (did you miss the smiley?), which is why I'm wondering what
all the fuss is about - this is a project that is going nowhere except
a very expensive fairground ride.

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com


10 years from now when Virgin puts NASA out of business, what will you

say then? Remember, baby steps........

 

[Don Pearce]

On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 14:41:03 GMT, James Beck
<jim@reallykillersystems.com> wrote:

In article <4166a700.202194609@news.plus.net>, donald@pearce.uk.com
says...

Exactly, (did you miss the smiley?), which is why I'm wondering what
all the fuss is about - this is a project that is going nowhere except
a very expensive fairground ride.

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com


10 years from now when Virgin puts NASA out of business, what will you
say then? Remember, baby steps........

No, this is a technological dead end. It is not a development
programme with orbital flight at the end. Google the rocket equation
and play with the sums to see why.

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Don Pearce <donald@pearce.uk.com>
wrote (in <4166a700.202194609@news.plus.net&gt about 'Bravo to the
SpaceShipOne team!', on Tue, 5 Oct 2004:

Exactly, (did you miss the smiley?), which is why I'm wondering what all
the fuss is about - this is a project that is going nowhere except a
very expensive fairground ride.

You are referring to that old nonsense at Kitty Hawk?
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
The good news is that nothing is compulsory.
The bad news is that everything is prohibited.
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

 

[Rich Grise]

On Tuesday 05 October 2004 07:41 am, James Beck did deign to grace us with
the following:

In article <4166a700.202194609@news.plus.net>, donald@pearce.uk.com
says...

Exactly, (did you miss the smiley?), which is why I'm wondering what
all the fuss is about - this is a project that is going nowhere except
a very expensive fairground ride.

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com


10 years from now when Virgin puts NASA out of business, what will you
say then? Remember, baby steps........

Neil Armstrong got it back-asswards. Going to the moon is a major leap
for a man, yes, (takes a lot of grunt work to loft all that stuff) but
for Mankind (or, P-C, Humankind, or Pink monkeys, whatever), it's just
the first baby steps to the stars...

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

On Tuesday 05 October 2004 07:42 am, Don Pearce did deign to grace us with
the following:

On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 14:41:03 GMT, James Beck
jim@reallykillersystems.com> wrote:

In article <4166a700.202194609@news.plus.net>, donald@pearce.uk.com
says...

Exactly, (did you miss the smiley?), which is why I'm wondering what
all the fuss is about - this is a project that is going nowhere except
a very expensive fairground ride.

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com


10 years from now when Virgin puts NASA out of business, what will you
say then? Remember, baby steps........

No, this is a technological dead end. It is not a development
programme with orbital flight at the end. Google the rocket equation
and play with the sums to see why.

Hey! You're doing an Aylward! Flatly declare something impossible,
and then tell your skeptical audience to do _your_ homework? Screw that.

_You_ show us the numbers.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Don Pearce]

On Tue, 5 Oct 2004 21:48:54 +0100, John Woodgate
<jmw@jmwa.demon.contraspam.yuk> wrote:

I read in sci.electronics.design that Don Pearce <donald@pearce.uk.com
wrote (in <416301af.225408281@news.plus.net&gt about 'Bravo to the
SpaceShipOne team!', on Tue, 5 Oct 2004:

Now I have presented you with a simple, undisputed fact - orbital
height, and no velocity. You are making the extraordinary suggestion
that somehow (and I can only assume magic) they can find 17,500mph from
nowhere.

You can still perhaps find on the Web somewhere the explanation that all
you need is a simple BRAKE. The ship stops and the Earth rotates
underneath it. Of course, you can only do this when you are beyond the
Earth's gravity. (;-)

Naturally, this is all being kept secret by the government.

Bastards!

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com