On 17 Oct 2005 17:04:20 -0700, "Cousin Ricky"
wrote:

Rich wrote:
When you think of future rocket technology, you probably think of ion
propulsion, antimatter engines and other exotic concepts. Not so fast!
[snip]
You might assume that, by now, every conceivable refinement in
liquid-fueled rocket designs must have been made. You'd be wrong. It
turns out there's room for improvement.
[snip]

Source: Science@NASA (by Patrick L. Barry)

Dark Ages? The Dark Ages lasted 1000 years. We've had
heavier-than-air flight for 102 years, and liquid-fuel rockets for a
paltry 79 years.

I think we're doing pretty good--especially considering that the
projects are driven by government money and politics.

As for future exotic concepts, we're already working on ion propulsion.
Realistically, i don't expect any substantial anti-matter technology
for quite a few centuries; the stuff is hard to obtain and hard to
contain. Would you like to be any less than 3 counties away when a
train full of the stuff derails?


Clear skies!

Keep the rocket technology as it is, don't spend another
dime developing it. It can still be used and the current
rockets are fine for launching satellites, etc.
But they have to find another way to advance the exploratory
program.
AND THAT WAY IS THE ORION PROJECT!
But they'll never build that.
-Rich