A Military Space Plane development program, if well-funded and well-run) could be more valuable to the commercial space industry than COTS, CCDEV, or COTS Mars.
SUSTAIN (small unit insertion from space).
Since COTS is rapidly evolving toward a traditional FAR-based procurement,
1. You know not what you speak of. The FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation has a dual mission, to regulate and to encourage, facilitate, and promote. It's been that way since the office was created. I know because I led one of the teams on the Hill that helped pass the enabling legislation. 2. Funding experimenters is what the CRUSR program does. It does not operate vehicles. It purchases launch services. 3. There are more things in heaven and earth, Jim, than are dreamt of in your FARs. 3. Really??? You've never heard of Space Command? 4. You must be smoking those FARs, Jim. When I purchase a service -- renting a pickup, say -- I don't accept an econobox or a dogcart instead. 5. Substituting balloons or sounding rockets for suborbital RLVs is an example of what's called "bait and switch." It's generally illegal in commercial transactions. Even under the FARs, it's frowned upon. Again, you just don't get it.
Because the military doesn't need one.
Quote from: Jim on 09/26/2012 08:57 pmBecause the military doesn't need one.Says the guy who thought NASA was in charge of DoD space programs. :-) The Old Guard said the same thing about airplanes, in the 1960's. I know a couple of colonels who would strongly disagree with you. But what do War College graduates know, anyway? :-)
Quote from: rocketacademy on 09/26/2012 09:29 pmQuote from: Jim on 09/26/2012 08:57 pmBecause the military doesn't need one.Says the guy who thought NASA was in charge of DoD space programs. :-) The Old Guard said the same thing about airplanes, in the 1960's. I know a couple of colonels who would strongly disagree with you. But what do War College graduates know, anyway? :-) Would you then answer my question and a how a military space plane, with requirements derived from the military, owned and operated by the military benefit non-existent commercial space transport more than CCDev/CCiCap has the chance of doing?
Quote from: Go4TLI on 09/26/2012 09:33 pmQuote from: rocketacademy on 09/26/2012 09:29 pmQuote from: Jim on 09/26/2012 08:57 pmBecause the military doesn't need one.Says the guy who thought NASA was in charge of DoD space programs. :-) The Old Guard said the same thing about airplanes, in the 1960's. I know a couple of colonels who would strongly disagree with you. But what do War College graduates know, anyway? :-) Would you then answer my question and a how a military space plane, with requirements derived from the military, owned and operated by the military benefit non-existent commercial space transport more than CCDev/CCiCap has the chance of doing?This is kind of a stupid question, but isn't X-37 The Military SpacePlane? Would there be commercial applications for such a vehicle?
This is kind of a stupid question, but isn't X-37 The Military SpacePlane?
Still waiting on the explanation as to why such a plane would benefit supposed commercial space over the CCDev/CCiCap programs as you claimed rocketacedemy.
Quote from: Go4TLI on 09/27/2012 01:29 amStill waiting on the explanation as to why such a plane would benefit supposed commercial space over the CCDev/CCiCap programs as you claimed rocketacedemy. Durable, maintainable, rapidly reusable technologies developed for military spaceplane would also be useful for commercial RLVs (and vice versa). Look at the improvement in jet engines since World War II, driven by both military and commercial aircraft. We need similar improvements for space technology. CCDEV/CCiCap cannot drive such technologies because the systems are expendable, or minimally reusable, and the flight rate is trivial.
Several times a month? No. You don't understand what rapid means. The projected requirement is up to 3-4 times per day, in emergency situations. See:http://www.sei.aero/eng/papers/uploads/archive/AIAA-2006-8018.pdf
MSP would be an operational vehicle, capable of delivering a militarily significant payload anyway in the world in 90 minutes, high-tempo operations, and high sortie rates.
Durable, maintainable, rapidly reusable technologies developed for military spaceplane would also be useful for commercial RLVs (and vice versa).