On 4/3/2012 8:14 PM, Fred J. McCall wrote:
I'm sure that will comfort that sheep rancher and his family when you
crash something into them.

That's the problem with launching over land, you see. You s

True, but equally true of launching over water, especially on a coast as
full of watercraft as the Florida Atlantic coast.

How familiar are you with that part of New Mexico? I grew up in El
Paso. It isn't deserted, but it is possible to find locations in New
Mexico where you could easily launch on a trajectory that wouldn't take
you over inhabited land for a couple hundred miles at least.

Space Port America is adjacent to White Sands Missile Range, for
example. That's where they test much of the new missiles that the U.S.
military uses. The risks of a missile crashing and exploding are nearly
100%, and many of them are just as destructive (if not more) than a
crashing spacecraft would be.


--
Catherine Jefferson
Blog/Personal: http://www.ergosphere.net