[AR] Re: 500,000 tons per year to GEO (off topic)

  • From: Keith Henson <hkeithhenson@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2014 13:04:33 -0800

"number of hidden assumptions"

It's a short article.  There is a book's worth of material out on the
net that answers (as best I can) your objections.

"or whoever would ever get approval"

I doubt the question would ever come up.  If this is done, it will be
China, the EU or the US doing it.  They might sort out the control
issues among them, but there really isn't anyone who can give
permission.  The launch path has to be along the equator and over
water.  There are only a few good locations.

If the middle east could supply dollar a gallon gasoline, this project
would never have come up.  As it is, the mid east may be one of the
larger customers and possibly have a big hand in the financing.

As for "single-point-of-failure" a rectenna is no worse than a solar
farm, and nobody worries about those being targets.  True, you could
take one out with a megaton weapon, but it's hardly a terrorist
target.



On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 9:12 AM, Rick Dickinson <rtd@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Just finished reading the article, and I have to say that there are a number
> of hidden assumptions that could easily bite them in the ass and prevent
> this whole scheme from working out.  The risks seem pretty clear, despite
> the author's optimism.
>
> First up, the idea of shooting high-power lasers at the ground from space.
> Call me a pessimist, but in a world where kids with little button-cell
> powered laser pointers on the ground present a hazard to commercial
> airliners, I'm having a lot of trouble seeing how Skylon or whoever would
> ever get approval to deliberately fire multi-GW lasers towards the earth,
> even if they are trying real hard to only hit their own vehicles, and only
> in the right places on those vehicles.
>
> Second, if this plan is completely successful, it will bring back
> dollar-a-gallon gasoline, while freeing us from dependence on the middle
> east.  Gee, can anyone think of any countries where terrorism is a way of
> life, who might be non-plussed by the idea of dollar-a-gallon gasoline
> coming from places other than the middle east?
>
> IMHO, there's a very real risk of having these big single-point-of-failure
> rectenna farms and other key pieces of the infrastructure targeted by "the
> bad guys". His cost analysis doesn't seem to include the costs of either
> preventing such attacks and/or accepting them as an ongoing cost of doing
> business, and building large numbers of redundant facilities to be able to
> continue working if any of them goes offline.  (Redundant Array of
> Independent Rectennas, aka RAIR, anyone?)
>
> Sorry to throw a wet blanket over things....
>
> Cheers,
>
>  - Rick Dickinson
>
>
>
> On 4/2/2014 9:27 AM, Keith Henson wrote:
>>
>> http://theenergycollective.com/keith-henson/362181/dollar-gallon-gasoline
>>
>> $350 million committed so far to the Skylon engines.
>>
>> Keith
>>
>
>

Other related posts:

  1. Home
  2. arocket
  3. Archive
  4. 04-2014