Space Forum / Space Policy / March 2007

OK, I havent thought about this for several years and forget the
reason for why Xenon is used for ion rockets.  Sure, it is inert but
so is Ar.  Ar ionizes easier.  Xe is seriously expensive, I know, cuz
I buy both Ar and Xe.

It looks as if CBERS-1 (NORAD 25940, 1999-057A) or the associated
rocket stage has also broken up. Objects through 99057 PB are now
cataloged. Details as yet unclear.  News at 11.
Pehaps a victim of the earlier ASAT debris?

What if a 'vision for space exploitation' were to replace W's VSE.
It is the first step to LEO that requires the giant leap.  I don't
know how to set a goal like, 'to deliver a thousand tons per year into
orbit, with a price ceiling of $1K/Kg' , and make it sound as

ex·plo·ra·tion   [ek-spluh-rey-shuhn]
-noun
1.    an act or instance of exploring or investigating; examination.
2.    the investigation of unknown regions.

Lunar Space Elevator Linear Tether Considerations (CM @1^9 kg):
363,300 km, ME-L1 = 58,128 km, L1.1 = 63,941 km (-1738 km = 62,203 km)
405,500 km, ME-L1 = 64,880 km, L1.1 = 71,368 km (-1738 km = 69,630 km)
Not that I'm telling anyone what they shouldn't already know, such as

If the total cost of the shuttle program, about $150G, were divided by
the total number of launches, almost 120, and pretending that each
mission delivered 30 tons to orbit, the cost per pound would be over
$20000.  Now make the wild assed assumption (WAA?) that we could have

I'm Sam, a high school senior with a serious interest in space
exploration. I am writing a research report discussing whether
putting
humans in space is a necessary part of continuing space exploration.

There are rumors that because of budget cuts, the Constellation
program will be redirected from the Moon to an asteroid.
Regardless of whether the Moon is out as a destination, I think a
crewed trip to an asteroid is a great idea, just because it would be

Here's a guy who wants to solve global warming by filling the upper
atmosphere with SO2.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/6369971.stm
I think this would be a great market for suborbital space transports.

Why am I hearing more and more about dangerous asteroids ?
I wonder about SDI and how stubbornly it was pushed upon us by Reagan
and also
by the fact that subsequent Presidents, including Clinton, did not

The article at:
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Rocket_Plane_Roulette_999.html
casts doubt on the safety of some of the new rocket plane projects
being developed by private industry.

http://tinyurl.com/3d4vlg
U.S. NRO spy satellite may be total loss
Wed Mar 7, 2007 10:17 AM IST
By Andrea Shalal-Esa

As one of the most active space-tourism-ish companies in operation, I've
long wondered exactly how well Zero-G has been doing.  This article
gives some good information that is new to me, at least:
<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-zgravity03mar03,0,1005183

11 million light years from home. If the light takes that long to get
here, it might not even be there any more. I could have vanished a few
million years ago and we wouldn't know it.

Current issues in NewSpace
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/823/1
From above:
   Sowers was optimistic that additional demand for the Atlas 5