Blast Off to Outer Space....From Cape Breton, NS?

[RedHot25]

Alright, this has been talked about/rumoured down here for a while, so thought that I would post it here. Book now your vacations down here, because instead of enjoying the glorious scenery, you could be blasting off into space from here instead !

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2...spaceport.html

The company that hopes to build a commercial spaceport in Nova Scotia has nearly completed a mockup of its rocket and is studying two potential sites in Cape Breton, chairman Chirinjeev Kathuria says.
..........


Nova Scotia gave the company 120 hectares of land last year, judging the project "a credible opportunity," said Nova Scotia Business Inc. spokesman Paul Doucet.


Now the company must pick a launch site to fulfil requirements in an agreement with NASA, signed in February. Under that deal, NASA agreed to share information so the company can better understand NASA's needs for space station crew and cargo transportation launch vehicles.

While the PlanetSpace website refers to hundreds of millions of dollars in potential revenue and plans to fly 2,000 space tourists with fares starting at $250,000 US, NASA is interested in transporting cargo and crews to low-Earth orbital destinations.

[Hemi-Cuda]

isn't the best place to launch rocket into space close to the equator? i always figured that was why all the US launches were done from Florida. i wonder how much more expensive it would be to try to launch something from Canada

[RedHot25]

Hemi, I have NO idea about the costs, logistics etc of space travel. However, I will tell you that the NS gov't seems willing to give the company financial breaks (such as the land as an example)....that that may offset some of the cost.

I don;'t know, though, I just find this kind of silly. I don';t mean it to be "mean"....but I don't think this will ever actually see the light of day.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

When this story broke last summer I was skeptical. NSBI does really good work though, they don't just throw money around willy-nilly.

Apparently it's the location of Cape Breton in terms of latitude as we're in line with the International Space Station. As well being next to the Atlantic allows shuttles to re-enter orbit and decend over water, apparently this is better for the safety of the public and noise. Then simply land at Sydney Airport (no improvments need to be done to the runway for shuttles either, the runway is the same as in Halifax, which is an emergency landing strip for space shuttles currently).

I hope it gets off the ground, it'd be cool to watch space ships take off from my back yard!

[Burninator]

I'd say it's definitely worth giving a shot. I bet tourist space flight isn't that far away from being a viable reality. I also wouldn't be surprised to see tourist space flight be a realistic option for the majority of the population within our lifetime (we'll mine at least, some of you folks are old ).

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

NSBI does really good work though, they don't just throw money around willy-nilly.

You sure about that?

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by RedHot25

You sure about that?

Yep

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

Yep

Aren;t they the ones that have been rumoured to be involved in the potato loan/farm thing, the amusement park, etc? Either directly or indirectly? They did spend some time in front of a legislature committee or 2 a good couple of times this year I believe...

[Locke]

This flat out will never work.

Everyone would be way too drunk all the time, they would keep postponing the flights.

This space flight has been cancelled due to intoxication.

Can you get a DUI for piloting a space shuttle under the influence..... ??

Just poking fun....

Locke.

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

When this story broke last summer I was skeptical. NSBI does really good work though, they don't just throw money around willy-nilly.

Believe me they do throw money around. You need a decent business plan but that's about it. They throw it around to hope something sticks.

they were more than willing to throw venture capital money at my company after a very short meeting. If they like any sort of idea (especially high tech) they throw money at it.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by ernie

Believe me they do throw money around. You need a decent business plan but that's about it. They throw it around to hope something sticks.

they were more than willing to throw venture capital money at my company after a very short meeting. If they like any sort of idea (especially high tech) they throw money at it.

keep reading . . . what's after throw money around? "willy-nilly" meaning you'd have to have your homework done and have a decent business plan.

Originally Posted by RedHot25

Aren;t they the ones that have been rumoured to be involved in the potato loan/farm thing, the amusement park, etc? Either directly or indirectly? They did spend some time in front of a legislature committee or 2 a good couple of times this year I believe...

As for the potato farm, I thought that was more ministerial misconduct. Hence one of the many Many MANY reasons Ernie Fage was in trouble.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia...n20060216.html

[Cube Inmate]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

isn't the best place to launch rocket into space close to the equator? i always figured that was why all the US launches were done from Florida. i wonder how much more expensive it would be to try to launch something from Canada

Earth's rotation gives a bit of a kick, but it's a small fraction of the total energy needed to get to orbit. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) requires an orbital velocity of around 28,000 km/h, or 7800 m/s relative to a non-rotating earth. At the equator, the surface velocity due to rotation is about 460 m/s to the east. At the KSC in Florida, that decreases to around 407 m/s, and further still to about 320 m/s in Cape Breton. As you can see, it's a small fraction of the energy needed no matter where you launch from.

The above numbers are only the "absolute" amount of velocity available from rotation. Only a fraction of that can be used because you can't launch directly to the East if you want to match up with the ISS's 51° orbital inclination. From Florida, they have to launch about 40° north (or south) of east, bleeding a further 23% of the available energy. From Cape Breton, the launch angle is closer to 22°, bleeding only 7% of the available speed.

407 m/s x 77% = 313 m/s effective
320 m/s x 93% = 298 m/s effective

While my calculations have been pretty rough, the result is that there's very little difference in the end.