Comments on: Spaceport Nova Scotia?

By: Personal Spaceflight » The seasick astronaut

Personal Spaceflight » The seasick astronaut — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 11:48:14 +0000

[…] There are a few interesting items in the article beyond Capt. Wong’s motion sickness woes. The seasickness is an issue because the Canadian Arrow spacecraft will splash down in the Atlantic after launching from the Cape Breton spaceport in Nova Scotia, starting around 2010, according to the article. However, when the Cape Breton project was announced in August, it was intended only for orbital flights of its Silver Dart orbital spacecraft, not the suborbital Canadian Arrow capsule, which would operate from a “Midwestern” state. Earlier this month, when Ohio was revealed as that Midwestern state, the focus was on suborbital flights of the Silver Dart, a winged vehicle that could land on a runway, rather than the Canadian Arrow capsule that requires a water landing. (To make things more confusing, the spacecraft described later in the article does sound like the Silver Dart.) Has there really been a change in plans, or is the company (inadvertently) sending out mixed messages? […]

By: Personal Spaceflight » Spaceport Ohio?

Personal Spaceflight » Spaceport Ohio? — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 14:35:45 +0000

[…] A few items of interest from this article: This is the first time that I can recall PlanetSpace saying that they plan to use the Silver Dart, which they originally proposed for orbital missions for NASA’s COTS demonstration program, for suborbital flights. Previously, they planned to use a capsule that would splash down (that capsule is still shown on the PlanetSpace web site.) That approach does make sense, though, if they’re still interested in developing the Silver Dart for orbital flights, which they are (chairman Chirinjeev Kathuria told MSNBC’s Alan Boyle that they’re still interested in NASA’s COTS program once it moves out of its current demonstration stage.) The Ohio site would not be used for orbital operations: PlanetSpace is still planning on developing a spaceport for that in Nova Scotia, as announced this summer. […]

By: Personal Spaceflight » Updates on PlanetSpace and Nova Scotia

Personal Spaceflight » Updates on PlanetSpace and Nova Scotia — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 17:04:44 +0000

[…] Another Halifax newspaper, the Chronicle Herald, features a skeptic about this whole approach: me. I talked with the reporter for about 15 minutes, discussing my issues with the project (which I outlined here yesterday); I was surprised how much play those comments got in the article. I’ll note here that my skepticism doesn’t mean I don’t believe that the company can’t do what it’s claiming, only that there’s insufficient evidence available publicly today to support claims that they can—a subtle but important distinction. […]