Comments for NewSpace Journal

Comment on Is Sierra Nevada Spaceport America’s next tenant? by New Mexico liability law update stalled « NewSpace Journal

New Mexico liability law update stalled « NewSpace Journal — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:01:52 +0000

[...] spaceflight liability indemnification law has run into a roadblock. As noted here last week, the New Mexico legislature is considering legislation to update its 2010 indemnification act, with the major provision being to extend the law’s immunity from lawsuits to suppliers of [...]

Comment on Is Sierra Nevada Spaceport America’s next tenant? by Doug Weathers

Doug Weathers — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:20:51 +0000

One short-term reason for Sierra Nevada to operate from Spaceport America is to do drop testing of Dream Chaser from WhiteKnightTwo. WhiteKnightTwo will operate from Spaceport America.

Longer term, I dunno.

Comment on Separating space tourism from ballooning by Nathan Justice

Nathan Justice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:39:05 +0000

I would not blame zero2infinity for all its arguments against space vehicles at all, because at some point in time, someone has to pay for the ballons and all other associated cost. However, it is still space tourism. Remember that once you cross Amstrong’s line, you are no longer in the troposphere, you are over board, but a valid point from the opposing team that i agree with is, if its not Hawaii, its not the same thing as Hawaii.
They might come up with ballons that will reach 86km soon, hopefully it does not get jammed by any sharp object in space or alien or “pooped” out in the air, but till then just give them some support and tell zero2infinity to tell their scientist to make very strong ballons for safety reasons.

Comment on Armadillo Aerospace flies again from Spaceport America, but not without problems by Dr. Doug Haynes

Dr. Doug Haynes — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:43:03 +0000

Wow another frailer of an unmanned tube rocket technology of the 20th century, but that’s what it takes to gain operational experience so God bless them one and all. We here at Blue Ridge Nebula have been usefully flying manned air-spaceline flying saucers since 1994 at FTG airport, and thanks to God have never experienced any setbacks, but we still have jettison pods installed on everyone of them anyway. We just submitted our first FAA-AST permit to operate our second UFO/USO Haynes Saucer at the upcoming FTG spaceport here in Colorado on MLK-DAY. We will be flying every day from their. God bless you one and all too.

Comment on Armadillo Aerospace flies again from Spaceport America, but not without problems by Loretta Hall

Loretta Hall — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:57:21 +0000

Thanks for the prompt report!

Comment on Separating space tourism from ballooning by JohnHunt

JohnHunt — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:37:23 +0000

What if the adventures were to be intentionally rocket like? Start donning a spacesuit, have a countdown. An adventurer presses a button which detaches their capsule from the ground. That capsule is attached by a stretched bungee cord to a balloon 1,000 ft in the air so you get the initial acceleration. At height, another adventurer presses a button, the capsule detaches so you experience weightlessness in the same trip. Parachutes deploy and you land in water.

Comment on Stratolaunch: a contrarian view by DWM

DWM — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:21:00 +0000

You make the point I think we should examine closely. The stated 5-10% rocket performance improvement over ground launch is exactly what is needed for a single rocket stage. Given a higher performance engine, and the flexibility of launch point, reusability becomes a real possibility. The single rocket stage would be a once-around stage with the launch point tailored to drop it on the landing area, minimizing extra prop. Reuseability – landing a rocket – also brings up safety concerns. Given reentry profile over the Gulf, safety concerns are minimized. So Florida is the perfect site for a reuseable system. Going forward, the stated facts seem to point to a growth capability to a fully reuseable system. The basic point is to use the extra performance not to increase “paying” payload, but increase reliability and reuse.

What sort of applications do you imagine are there for a flexible, on-time, fully reuseable (i.e, reliable and low cost) system to take the stated weight to LEO? People seem to be included as the ultimate cargo of this system, if they can actually pull these things off. Sort of like the SpaceX approach, with evolutionary improvements leading to bigger and better things.

BTW, the cost of the launch aircraft – and eventually the rocket (hopefully) – would be amortized over many launches. I would expect the cost per pound would be much lower, even with maintenance costs, given the expected operational life of an aircraft is measured in years if not decades.

Comment on What happened on SpaceShipTwo’s last glide flight? by Steve

Steve — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:42:42 +0000

It has now been 3 1/2 months since SS2 was last let loose. If this was a minor issue I would have expected testing to continue.
Also I don’t understand why WhiteKnight2 (Eve) has not been out cruising to build up flight hours. Since the drop test in September there has only been the flights to New Mexico for the dog and pony show, and one day of flying to “cold soak” and test the landing gear.
We are approaching “hanger queen” status for the flight equipment again…

Comment on Separating space tourism from ballooning by AshleyZ

AshleyZ — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 10:49:36 +0000

It’s reasonable not to label ballooning as space tourism, though.

Comment on Separating space tourism from ballooning by AshleyZ

AshleyZ — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:21:28 +0000

High-altitude ballooning seems pretty great to me. You’re still surrounded by a near-vacuum, and the view will last a lot longer than a suborbital flight.

I disagree with the Caribbean vs. tanning bed analogy. You could just as well make the analogy that ballooning is like going to the Caribbean without the obnoxious casinos or time-share spiel. Sure, some people will like the thrill ride, but for others, skipping the vomit-inducing parts of the trip will be a bonus. Reducing the risk and having a voluminous cabin to walk around in with plenty of amenities is a bonus in my opinion. Being locked into a claustrophobic tin can, peering through a tiny periscope, and urinating in your suit could be described as part of the “authentic Al Shepard experience”, but I’m willing to sacrifice the authenticity.