Re:Space Tourism Isn’t Frivolous, or Impossible
by logfromblammo on Tuesday November 04, 2014 @11:35AM
(#8557414)
If we didn't spend all that time on vacuum tubes then, where would audiophiles be today?
The truth of the matter is that we have a lot of experience with chemical rockets because there is a huge technology overlap with ballistic missiles, from the original German V-2s to modern MRV ICBMs. We haven't yet used those other techs for space launch mostly because they less easily weaponized. So far, national superpowers have been the primary motivators in space development. When they spend money, they like to get some extra power out of the deal.
Air-breathing engines, while useful for initial acceleration of spacecraft, are also useful for moving a missile halfway around the planet. Launch loops, on the other hand, have no practical military uses.
A private space flight industry, with no need to develop dual-purpose tech, would tend to favor lowering the cost of 1 kg to LEO rather than refine the ability to deliver a payload. And that's what makes V.G. and SpaceX so great, even if they are stumbling around like toddlers just out of the playpen right now.
The truth of the matter is that we have a lot of experience with chemical rockets because there is a huge technology overlap with ballistic missiles, from the original German V-2s to modern MRV ICBMs. We haven't yet used those other techs for space launch mostly because they less easily weaponized. So far, national superpowers have been the primary motivators in space development. When they spend money, they like to get some extra power out of the deal.
Air-breathing engines, while useful for initial acceleration of spacecraft, are also useful for moving a missile halfway around the planet. Launch loops, on the other hand, have no practical military uses.
A private space flight industry, with no need to develop dual-purpose tech, would tend to favor lowering the cost of 1 kg to LEO rather than refine the ability to deliver a payload. And that's what makes V.G. and SpaceX so great, even if they are stumbling around like toddlers just out of the playpen right now.