Barbara Lamar wrote:
> Spike Jones wrote:
> > Or a drone launch, lower, slower and cheaper.
>
> I'm embarrassed to admit such ignorance, but what's a drone?
A drone is a vehicle, usually expendible, which can find its own way to
its target and possesses sufficient controls (airfoils, etc.) to get
there, both without aid. The exact type of aid allowable is fuzzy,
though usually any human or external aid disqualifies it. For example,
heat-seeking missiles qualify; a SI-guided missile would probably not
(unless the SI's sole purpose in life was to kamikaze against the
missile's target). In this case, "drone launch" means that, since the
object to be launched is a drone, it can simply be released in the
general vicinity of its target (after setting its navigation program)
without much concern for aiming or accuracy; say, dropped out a cargo
hatch or a window. The drone will then correct its own course
accordingly.
Historically, "drone" meant something mechanically monotonous, for
instance the hum of a constant-pitch electric motor.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:48 MDT