Marko Horvat wrote:
What Burt Rutan and Sir Richard Branson are doing is magnificent!
Outer Space is wide open. And, 'The Spaceship Company' is gearing up
for the Space Rush.

Yes it's wonderful, magnificent and inspiring, but... they haven't sill
achieved 7.9 km/sec - the 1st orbital speed.

Lowering the launch costs is the problem number one for ongoing exploration
of space.

Imagine how would Portuguese, Spanish, or English explore the world seas,
and the entire globe, from 15th until 19th century if a pound of their boat
would have cost 5,000 USD? That would be impossible, and this is the primary
reason that is hampering our exploration of space.


There exists a multi-billion dollar market for satellites. Any vehicle
with a 200,000 pound cargo capability could launch multiple satellites
simultaneously.

Lowering the launch costs is the problem number one for ongoing exploration
of space.

Lowering launch costs is a major problem, but not an impossible one.
Why it takes so long and costs so much to build the Shuttle, I don't
know. It was new technology back in the 70's and R&D is very
expensive.

Time should be added to the list of expenses, and is partially
responsible for the extreme expense of R&D.

Using straight lines, not curves, decreases expense of parts and
decreases the amount of time to put the parts together. Curves look
nice and have some utility in shedding the shock wave, but are not
necessary. The X-43a had fairly straight lines.

An equilateral triangle has even straighter lines, though some curves
may be necessary on the top surface to insure proper lift.

R&D is required everytime off-the-shelf isn't used. Today, this is a
requirement for the hull, but not for anything else.

R&D means: designs, design changes, design approvals, testing,
failures, new designs, design changes, design approvals, testing, . . .
, n designs, n design changes, n design approvals, n testing, n
failures -- ad infinitum. Very expensive!

So, do your designs in 6 months. Prepare your outdoor spaceship
building site while designing. (You barbeque steaks outside don't
you?)

Hire your workers and pay them well -- and expect them to . . . work.
Let Rocketdyne build the SSME's. They already know how, so it won't
take them long. Subcontract fuel tank construction, so you put them
together like leggo toys at your 'outdoor' construction site.

Don't test anything -- except the hull -- because store bought is
supposed to work. And, glue it all together with gobs of epoxy.

No! You don't have to use calculus and robots to put the epoxy on.
Just slop it on like tree sap on a Viking Dragon Ship!

And you don't have to weigh each part before installation. If you have
to tether the spaceplane down so it doesn't float off, it's ok.

Hire a brave test pilot.


tomcat