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photon · 11-09-2004, 11:48 PM

Much much much harder.. 25-30 times harder at least.

SS1 went 0.6 miles/second to reach its goal.. this will have to be going 5 miles/second!

$50 million as a prize doesn't seem enough to make someone try. Rutan spent way more than $10 million on SS1, and this project makes SS1 looks like child's play. The technology is out there sure, but it's the cost of implementing it.

Throw in that 80% of the dry mass has to be reusable, and this becomes a huge economic challenge.

EDIT: Of course the payoff is huge though, so it's really not about the $50 million. If someone can get it to work for cheap and reliable..

11-09-2004, 11:48 PM	#3
photon The new goggles also do nothing. Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Calgary Exp:	Much much much harder.. 25-30 times harder at least. SS1 went 0.6 miles/second to reach its goal.. this will have to be going 5 miles/second! $50 million as a prize doesn't seem enough to make someone try. Rutan spent way more than $10 million on SS1, and this project makes SS1 looks like child's play. The technology is out there sure, but it's the cost of implementing it. Throw in that 80% of the dry mass has to be reusable, and this becomes a huge economic challenge. EDIT: Of course the payoff is huge though, so it's really not about the $50 million. If someone can get it to work for cheap and reliable.. __________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one.