Space Forum / Space Policy / July 2004

Okay, here is the basic plan.  The governent will pay $1 Billion dollars for
the first American Qualifying company to Create a Single Stage to orbit
vehicle that takes off like a plane, and lands like a plane.  It must take a
crew of three to low earth orbit, complete at least two ...

We have to design an orbiter. By an orbiter I mean a second stage of a TSTO,
or the orbiting stage of a MSTO.
What shape should it be? It has to survive reentry from LEO, and land under
control - and that probably means on a runway.

Your Humble Servant once again opines in the pages of USA Today, this
time using the Cassini mission to discuss the nature of exploration
and to settle once and for all the tiresome humans vrs robots
argument.

From Space News 2004 July 19 pg 18
"Japan and NASA Agree to End TRMM Operations by 2004"
Among the article's text is the following -
"A NASA safety analysis concluded in 2002 that TRMM posed

If SpaceX manages to meet the specs of Falcon V - 9200 pounds to
LEO at $12 million - what can be built in various price ranges?
ie, if you have $20 million, would that be more than enough to
have a business model based upon launching picosats? Could you

With their trademark flair, the House Appropriations Committee chose the
35th anniversary of the first moon landing to put out the appropriations
bill covering NASA:
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=14633

Jeffrey Bell wrote an opinion piece for SpaceDaily called "StuntShipOne:
The GeeBee Of Outer Space":
  http://www.spacedaily.com/news/oped-04v.html
Since that forum provides no space for comments, I'll post them here.  

I was wondering what actual reuseable rocket technology exists today.
By reuseable, I mean refuel and refly, ten flights a day, with a half hour
between flights and four hours per day and one week in six for maintenance.
By averagely-good mechanics.

"It is this common association of microbes and iron
deposition on earth that has spurred hopes that robot
crafts exploring the hematite anomaly of Mars' Meridiani
Planum might find evidence for ancient life. The

Here's something I just read about:
http://www.e4engineering.com/story.aspx?uid=4c3a6d3e-41d5-434e-9831-7c377b02a891
&cuid=b96dad81-0ef4-4fcc-9e3d-a7bd9b6a4258
So I'm wondering if this microwave heating of metals can be used for
making of glassy metals. Glassy metals are based on ...

from space.com
Space Elevator: Momentum Building
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer

Space elevator eyed as possible by 2019
ASSOCIATED PRESS
   President Bush wants to return to the moon and put a man on Mars.
But scientist Bradley C. Edwards has an idea that's really out of this

It pays to advertise.
   While satellites are essential to communication and earth
research, they exist outiside the conscienceness of most people.
Stuart Brand lobbied NASA for a picture of the whole earth and there

Excerpt:

Since I'm in this newsgroup at the moment can I ask a question.
I'm seeking information on space structures that can provide gravity
by spinning. I have found a wide variety of documents that describe
such structures but nothing that goes into the physical engineering of