I like it as it actually sounds realistically possible. Too many egghead ideas are just beyond possible, like the theory in the 60s to fire astronauts off Jules Verne style in a massive cannon. It might work, but the shock of being fired off might kill the 'riders' and the blast of it going off would break windows a thousand miles away.JazHaz wrote:Funnily enough, the BBC reported today on another possible solution to the costs of getting into space. The Skylon spaceplane project. This is an spaceplane that can use standard airports, taking off and flying like a normal plane, but with a hybrid air-breathing engine that acts like a jet and switches to rocket power at higher altitudes/speeds. If developed, it promises travel to anywhere in the world in four hours or to orbit.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17864782
One suggestion I really like was made by a guy in Australia, I didn't catch his name, his theory is to make a laminated hull constructed of plastic bottles. If enough layers were laminated together it would be very strong, and would make use of something that's not really good for the environment because it takes to long to decompose naturally. As I understand it, the major problem was that it's not easy to get heat shielding to adhere to plastic. Once the layers of heavily compressed and you have three thousand layers all 'smushed' together, they wouldn't theoretically be as sensitive to the heat of launch as one might think. (BTW, that's my techie term of the day, can't ya hear some scientist going "And now we're going to smush these two substances together, observe.") Anything that makes use of a substance (plastic bottles) that we already have too many of and replaces a costly substance like the old hull plates, I think it has promise. At least it's not likely to be protested so heavily by environmentalists. The trick would be convincing 3 or 7 or 11 astronauts that riding to *space* in an old coke bottle isn't a slightly haphazard suggestion. I'm as dumb as you might find, and I don't know if I'd ride it out unless I'd whacked it a few times with a hammer just to make sure it's solid. I don't see an authority figure letting some Tennessee hick whack his space ship with a ball-pien hammer.
That would be neat, wouldn't it Jaz? Being able to have a glass of wine sitting in an Italian vineyard, and then having a midnight snack of New York style pizza in New York. Aside from guys like me who get mildly motion sick watching helicopter footage on TV, it might revolutionize travel.
