House Now Regulating Stuff We Don't Even Do

[Phaedrus]

How very useful of them.

The House of Representatives have passed a legislative initiative aimed at regulating commercial space flight, designating authority to the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, the agency which oversees commercial satellite launches and other private space endeavours.

Nevermind the fact that there is not actually any commercial space travel going on now, or planned for the immediate future, or even technologically feasible, or commercially viable due to enormous costs. We'd better go on and make a law, just in case somebody tries to do it.

The bill passed by an astounding 402-1 vote.

Guess who the lone dissenter was?

If you guessed Ron Paul, the last true conservative in the American government, you guessed right.

These fúcking nitwits.


Phaedrus

 

[Oceans11]

Not as dumb as you think if you have innovative private individuals.

When this nut built his first rocket at about 14 he went along to the local cop-shop to check that it was OK to launch it.

There was a bunch of headscratching by the local plods and they decided that since there was no law for rocket launches he could testfire his missile.

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Private rocket launch is "suicidal"

Steve Bennett: Thunderbirds are go? By BBC News Online science editor Dr David Whitehouse

British rocket experts are denouncing as suicidal the latest plans of controversial rocket engineer Steve Bennett.

If he goes ahead with them, he could well be killed, and the burgeoning British rocketry effort will be permanently stuck on the launch pad, they warn.

Their concerns were voiced as Bennett, from Manchester, prepared to unveil his latest project, which he describes as the world's first private spacecraft, at an exhibition in London.

He intends to become the first private astronaut to go into space with his own rocket. Within two years, he hopes to take two passengers into space with him. Critics are already calling it the "bye, bye, Bennett mission".

To boldly go

Steve Bennett's latest development is the Nova capsule.

Alongside it at the exhibtion will be a larger capsule called Thunderbird, which Bennett hopes will take him, and the two passengers, into space.

But other rocket experts are worried, not least because the Thunderbird capsule is actually a converted cement mixer, containing sheets of hardboard and a few computer joysticks.

"This is not like launching an off-the-shelf rocket to a few tens of thousands of feet," said British rocket expert Richard Osborne. "Getting to the edge of space is a very different matter. You have to have expertise, experience, tonnes of money and then test, test, test."

BBC News Online put these criticisms to Steve Bennett. He responded: "We are not planning any tests such as wind tunnel or vibration tests before we launch it. That is what the test flight is for."

'Ambitious project'

He confirmed that it was his intention for the Nova capsule to be launched on a 3,050-metre (10,000-ft) shake-down mission by a cluster of commercially available rocket motors all strapped together.

Richard Osborne told BBC News Online that the rockets Mr Bennett was using each had a burn-time of six seconds, and if they all fired together would subject him and his capsule to high G-forces that they might not be able to withstand.

Even Steve Bennett's own team are surprised. Gurbir Singh, from Starchaser Industries, the rocketeer's own company, told BBC News Online that the mission was "somewhat ambitious".

Pete Davy, of Pete's Rockets, where many British rocket enthusiasts get their rockets, was more blunt: "If he gets into that capsule and lights the rockets it will be, bye, bye, Bennett."

But, despite these warnings, the Bennett launch schedule goes ahead. "I will be the first private astronaut," he said.

OK. That one was a spoof...
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This is a bit more genuine

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/952604.stm

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/starchaser_whatnext_000710.html

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/launches/xprize_launch_000706.html

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I mean, look at the history of Frank Whittle.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/whittle_frank.shtml

After the Air Ministry turned him down he patented his idea himself in 1932.

Big organisations are too restrictive for those true geniuses who break down barriers.

[This message was edited by eek on March 09, 2004 at 10:35 AM.]

 

[Oceans11]

Others tread on too many toes, and pay the price like this dude.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Bull

Over the next decade SRC worked for a number of governments including China, Chile, Taiwan and especially South Africa. SRC's main product was a modification of the US-standard 155mm (6") artillery piece, adapted like his HARP system into a slightly larger smoothbore. The result was the GC-45 howitzer, firing either NATO-standard 155mm rounds, or, more typically, a new shell of his own design. The new "pointy" shell offered considerably better aerodynamics than the original; it was spun up by fins on the shell rather than rifling in the barrel, allowing the middle of the shell to be designed for flight rather than "driving". The result was a gun that could outrange the original by up to 50%, while at the same time being far more accurate.

 

[Phaedrus]

Bull was an interesting guy ... there was a fairly decent movie made about him in the 90's with Frank Langella in the leading role (info here.) Some really neat tricks the Mossad plays on him in the film. Chilling, but not bad for inspiration in case you ever need to get even with someone.


Phaedrus