Recent content by drag

Hey there, haven't been here for a while, Couldn't take the time to read the whole thread. Anyway, had an idea once along the lines of what's proposed here. The idea was to place airships or just large balloons along the launch path of a rocket at equak distances - say every 2 or 3 miles...

Greetings ! From what I read recently - Boeing is working on a middle sized composite materials made jet with supposedly excellent parameters. It's a serious bet since it seems they've nothing else to offer in the near future. Hopefully, they'll make it. Live long and prosper.

I agree that this is an important factor, indeed. But we're talking a LOT more money, so it's certainly not enough. Perhaps, though, the 11,000 who signed in with that British investor for sub-orbital flights on space-ship-one type rockets with a 190,000$ price tag will start making an...

I'm sorry, but I disagree. I believe the problem is purely economic. If you come to any investor today and ask for money for such a project what will you tell him when he asks about future profits ? A simple: "If we build it - they'll come." will not suffice for any bussiness man. It may...

Even for space tourism, the top speed of 200 mph max which you could reach upon a normal railway is negligable compared to the total speed you'd need. Peace and long life.

Greetings ! You can use the ussual x = a * t^2 / 2 to calculate the track lenght. For a manned vehicle the maximum reasonable a is probably about 3 gs. Say you need Mach 6 so you get something around 60 miles. For space tourism, building a 60 mile long maglev launcher is EXTREMELY...

Greetings ! Don't think it's gon'na happen either, the track will just need to be too long and it costs a LOT. Though, considering current launch costs and with a reusable launch pad, the many billions this will cost may still be worth it. As a sidenote, there was a program on one of...

Greetings ! Like I said a disclosure document has nothing to do with the actual application. However, it provides evidence that the enitial idea - you'd better write a good and full discription, was yours. It's much better than sending letters to yourself with a post date or stuff like...

Greetings ! A disclosure document does not provide any official filing date or anything, but you can file it up to 2 years, as far as I remember, before the patent application and rely on it later, though even this is not perfect, to prove that you are the enitial inventor, which of...

Greetings ! A non-disclosure document can protect you to some extent but I wouldn't just count on it. Plus, you need witnesses. If you don't want to waste money filing a patent application yet, which btw requires no propotype or anything like that, you can at least file a disclosure...

It's clean and within required Isp ranges. Why mess with radiation instead ?! Live long and prosper.

I beg your pardon, but do you know what an electrodynamic tether is ? Because if you did, you would not involve it in this discussion. :wink: Peace and long life.

I believe that if the project is not carried out within half a century at most, there'll be no need for it later, because there'll be much better and simpler options. Live long and prosper.

Greetings ! Don't wan'na be the pessimist around here, but I seriously doubt we're ever gon'na push "space" in an elevator. :wink: In 20 years we can easily have much more advanced, safe and more important - cheap chemicly fueled rockets. In fact, we could have them now if some mass...

Nothing that a couple of solar panels couldn't fix in a couple of days. :wink: