Talk-Polywell.org

No, not the Starship Enterprise NCC 1701. I hope I didn't get your hopes up. Virgin Galactic's White Knight 2 has lifted Enterprise on its maiden voyage.

http://www.virgingalactic.com/news/item ... st-flight/

more pictures...

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/hyper ... light.html



New space bonus...
SpaceX has the Falcon 9 on the pad and completed their 3.5 sec trial burn in preparation for its inaugural launch in April.

http://spacex.com/multimedia/videos.php


BS

Here's to hoping both ventures fly ... in both senses of the word.

Yeah, cool stuff is happening in the new space industry right now.
I think that Obamas space policy is going to carry good fruit

Amazing how it always turns political in the General Forum, huh?

Even though I agree with the President's decision cancelling Ares and embracing NewSpace that decision is hardly the heart of SpaceX's or VG's success. Yes, NASA has contracted SpaceX but that ball was rolling long before this administration.

BS

Skipjack wrote:Yeah, cool stuff is happening in the new space industry right now.
I think that Obamas space policy is going to carry good fruit :)

It is one of the very few of his policies I like.

If SS2's peak velocity is similar to SS1's, then a factor of ~5 increase is still needed to reach orbital velocity. I did once read a comment by Rutan that implied he would someday be reaching for orbit. Maybe he meant microsats launched from the peak of a suborbital jaunt. Or maybe he meant something more. Rutan could do it as well or better than Musk, I believe. One look at the Shuttle's external tank tells you that SS2 (as is) doesn't have the bulk needed for an orbital upgrade (unless Rutan is planning on using a compact Polywell...).

Maybe he's thinking multiple, staged, flyback boosters?

MSimon wrote:

Skipjack wrote:Yeah, cool stuff is happening in the new space industry right now.
I think that Obamas space policy is going to carry good fruit

It is one of the very few of his policies I like.

It's amusing he's so willing to go to privatization with space policy when he's going the other direction with health care....

But, as the Klingon saying goes, Only Nixon could go to China....

DeltaV wrote:If SS2's peak velocity is similar to SS1's, then a factor of ~5 increase is still needed to reach orbital velocity. I did once read a comment by Rutan that implied he would someday be reaching for orbit. Maybe he meant microsats launched from the peak of a suborbital jaunt. Or maybe he meant something more. Rutan could do it as well or better than Musk, I believe. One look at the Shuttle's external tank tells you that SS2 (as is) doesn't have the bulk needed for an orbital upgrade (unless Rutan is planning on using a compact Polywell...).

Maybe he's thinking multiple, staged, flyback boosters?

a) Shuttle ET is huge due to the fact it uses very low density liquid hydrogen fuel (0.08 grams per cc vs 0.87 g/cc for kerosene). The high atmospheric drag losses of hauling a huge tank to orbit (and the gravity losses of a high mass tank) more than cancel out the Isp advantages of hydrogen fuel. The real purpose of operating shuttle on hydrogen was political bias for promoting a hydrogen economy, pure and simple.
b) Falcon 9, a two stage kerolox rocket, is much much smaller than shuttle, but carries 1/3 of its payload capacity and its Dragon capsule can put just as many men in orbit as shuttle.
c) SS2 isn't intended to have an orbital upgrade, they will be doing ballistic rocket launches from WK2 similar to t/Space's Quick Reach air launch, with a lanyard guided separation with a small drogue chute to control rotation.

Once they prove small (Falcon 1 class) satellite launches from WK2 with a two stage ballistic launcher, they will likely build a much larger mothership to carry larger man rated vehicles for orbital launch.

But, as the Klingon saying goes, Only Nixon could go to China....

I think it is Vulcan

Rutan wants to use White Knight Two as a platform for small orbital launchers (AFAIK, non RLV). They will be very different from SS1/SS2.
I think their concept is more comparable to the Pegasus launcher by Orbital.

It's amusing he's so willing to go to privatization with space policy when he's going the other direction with health care....

It is because of what has worked and has not worked in the past.
Purely government run space has not worked well (it had successes, but it was stuck at some level). Completely private healthcare has not worked either.
Once again, I see an issue of balance. You need both and you have to balance out the weaknesses of either system with the strengths of the other. I do welcome the private opting out that they are trying in Austria right now. It is good business for the private insurance companies and for some people it is the better option. It is not the best option for everybody and I would not even be able to get insurance that way due to my heart attack. With the government option, I at least have something and it is not that expensive (but the private option is cheaper and offers slightly more in some parts, they also can be troublesome under some circumstances).

I'm more of the opinion that there is no gain in control from space flight. Our guy is a control freak.

As the Austrian Corporal used to say. Ownership, party membership, and position didn't matter to him. Control is what mattered.

What our guy has come up against is a people who don't like to be controlled. It is cultural and genetic. Folks from around the world who didn't want to be controlled have come here. And he spoke to that desire for liberty in the election. And turned from it in governing. This will not end well.

Some of us were not fooled. Just enough were taken in for a win.

Our guy is a control freak

hmm, seeing all the measures introduced by the previous administration since 9/11 to have more "control" and "security". I think that the current admin is an improvement in this regard.

Completely private healthcare has not worked either.

Much like space flight, we've not had private healthcare for when it counted--for most of the 20th century, much like we've not had a truly free market system since 1913.

hmm, seeing all the measures introduced by the previous administration since 9/11 to have more "control" and "security". I think that the current admin is an improvement in this regard.

They're all control freaks, they just use different excuses.[/code]

The abolition of charity:

http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives ... aboli.html

How did health care go from charity to a right?

MSimon wrote:The abolition of charity:

http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives ... aboli.html

How did health care go from charity to a right?

It's called the Communist Manifesto.