Eric Berger has the latest.
NASA may be playing its cards too close to the vest here for its credibility.
Category Archives: Space
Spaceport Las Vegas
No, funding is not his biggest issue. This is his biggest issue:
“And there are several companies building them right now,” he said in his presentation. “They’re basically an aircraft with a variety of engines, whether it’s a scramjet engine or rockets. It takes off and lands like an aircraft and it’s made of titanium. You can launch it and re-enter, and you can do it over and over again. And it’s a lot safer.”
Although some of Lauer’s website visuals and early plans call for a launching pad, Lauer said his development’s focus will be on horizontal takeoffs and landings and not launches.
Which companies? The only company that I’m aware of developing a horizontal takeoff and landing system is Radian, and they need a sled. To quote the former senator from Wisconsin in a different context, I wouldn’t give him one penny for this nutty fantasy.
Back To Vegas
I’m attending AIAA ASCEND tomorrow through Thursday (ad in left column). I’ll take the laptop, but not sure how much time I’ll have to blog. It’s a very busy schedule, with multiple sessions in parallel.
With Little Fanfare
Falcon 9 has returned to flight after only a couple weeks:
Watch Falcon 9 launch 23 @Starlink satellites to orbit https://t.co/WT1fkM0Byl
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 27, 2024
They’ve made launch routine.
Rights For Rocks
Presumably, these rights would apply to space rocks as well. Let me be the first to represent them: I declare their right to be made useful.
Commercial Space Conundrum
How does NASA get more competition against SpaceX?
Challenger
Jeff Foust reviews what looks to be an interesting new book on NASA’s safety culture.
55 Years
It’s not too late to do a ceremony to commemorate the first landing on another world. Download here.
The GOP Platform
…and space.
Space Solar Power
A good review on the state of the technology.
This doesn’t make much sense, though: “…the hardware itself will have to be deorbited when it reaches end-of-life. ‘ESA has a Clean Space Initiative. Anything that we’re sending to space, we have to think about the whole lifecycle, cradle to grave,’ Caplin said.”
It’s loony tunes to think that we’d deorbit something that size from GEO. It will be repurposed in some way in space, or at least go to a graveyard orbit.