Author Topic: Dupont Aerospace  (Read 2103 times)

Offline Danderman

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Dupont Aerospace
« on: 06/13/2007 03:01 pm »

There is some controversy about an aircraft that this company is developing:

"Hunter vigorously defends funds steered to La Jolla aerospace firm"

But I vaguely recall that Dupont Aerospace has or had a space vehicle some years back. I cannot recall what it was, except that maybe it was an SSTO, does anyone remember?

 

 


Offline meiza

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Re: Dupont Aerospace
« Reply #1 on: 06/13/2007 04:02 pm »
NASP, X-30, Tony DuPont.

Offline CFE

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Re: Dupont Aerospace
« Reply #2 on: 06/14/2007 03:20 am »
The report would make it seem that DuPont has bought his undeserved support on The Hill, but looking at the dollar amounts DuPont contributed to Reps Cox and Hunter gives me the impression that it was chump change, politically speaking.  Their support probably has more to do with maintaining jobs and government cash in the district than with collecting paltry campaign contributions.

DuPont's idea, at least when first proposed, was an important one that deserved to be pursued.  In concept, it's not very different from the successful X-14.  But there comes a point where a company should lose its funding if it can't produce results.  We've probably passed that point long ago with the DuPont DP-2.

My question is, if the DP-2 has been funded by the Office of Naval Research since FY97, who was funding the program between 1988 and the point where ONR took over?  How much was spent during the first ten years of the program, and what did that spending accomplish?
"Black Zones" never stopped NASA from flying the shuttle.

Offline meiza

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Re: Dupont Aerospace
« Reply #3 on: 06/14/2007 08:46 am »

Offline Danderman

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Re: Dupont Aerospace
« Reply #4 on: 06/14/2007 04:36 pm »
What did Dupont Aerospace have to do with X-30?

Offline meiza

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Re: Dupont Aerospace
« Reply #5 on: 06/14/2007 06:46 pm »
http://stinet.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=A441126&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf
A really long story about the miserable failure that was the NASP project.
Tony Dupont is mentioned on page 14 for example, and you can read on. He was the original champion of the idea.

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