Blurrt wrote:
"Allen Thomson" wrote in message
oups.com...

US Patent 06962310

Note the stuff about stealth.


Now thats interesting. Bigelow is obviously trying to market the platform as
a servicable military spy center using radar etc that penetrates the hull.
If the surface of the module was sufficiently stealthed then there may be
one of these military survailance satellites up there fairly soon.

I read the reference. Problem about COTS - COTS is fine if you are in
an area where there is civil interest. A mobile phone manufacturer
could build the Bowman radio in 5 minutes flat.

However the only people with experience of rockets are goverment
agencies (like NASA, ESA etc.) and the military. COTS is therefore out.
In fact COTS would be relevant for a Von Neumann machine.

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/...281864,00.html

I said preiously that just that was a necessary stage. It may well be
that COTS would be relevant for guidance and instrumentaion systems.
Rockets however have to either be ordered from governments or built
from scratch.

Ian Parker