Re: top ten reasons there'll be faster progress

:: you can revise and improve suborbital flight all you want, and you're
:: still no farther along than the X15 was, in terms of basic
:: capability. Is there some reason to think this will spill over to
:: orbtial capability?

: "Jordan" <JSBassior2001@xxxxxxxxx>
: Well, yes. Suborbital and orbital technology are just different
: aspects of the same technology, which is launch technology in general.
: If one launches at less than orbital speeds, it's "suborbital"; if one
: launches at greater than suborbital speeds, it's "orbital."

But then, a disposable butane cigarette lighter and a flamethrower are
just different aspects of the "same technology"; if one uses pushes
more flamable material per second, it's a flamethrower; if you use teeny
amounts it's a lighter. But you can develop disposable cigarette lighters
all you want, and you won't advance the tech for flamethrowers at all.
And I believe there's more than an order of magnitude difference between
suborbital and orbital velocity, in terms of energy. So there's a *lot*
of intermediate ground separating the two.

Of course, lighter/flamethrower is an exageration, and there is carryover;
but motors burning more than ten times the fuel aren't going to just
fall out of development of suborbital-capable motors, especially the
sort of tech in SS1. There would have to be a significant motive to do
the extra development.

Unless I've done my arithmetic wrong, of course.

I better like Henry's point that the basic problems aren't technological,
but organizational, economic, reputation, etc, etc, etc.

: You now have space tourism

You now have people *talking* about space tourism, and considerably
fewer people actually touring space so far. I'm still not at all
optimistic that this will pan out. I don't suppose I'm pessimistic,
either, as such. But it doesn't seem to be a done deal, naict.


Wayne Throop throopw@xxxxxxxxx http://sheol.org/throopw
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: top ten reasons therell be faster progress
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