Space Forum / Space Flight / June 2005

A new turbine has been announced which is claimed to have unprecedented
low cost and ruggedness:
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/291175/New+twist+on+turbines.htm
http://www.swri.edu/4org/d18/mechflu/planteng/gasturb/radflow.htm

At the NSS meeting in May, Rusty Schweikert made the case that asteroid
2004 MN4 could hit the earth in 2036 or 2048, due to perturbations
caused by its close encounter with the earth in April 2029.  We won't
know until 2029 whether that is more likely to happen and Rusty was

How does one launch a into a polar orbit from French Guyana?  Where
does the first and second stage drop?  I understand they are not
bombing New England, but how do they avoid this?
Internet searches are not helping.

I have been thinking about the way the fire behaves in microgravity. I
have found little information on this in the internet, so I am mostly
just wondering, and these thoughts are what I want to share with you
for discussion: