Re: SPACE: Roton in New Scientist

Michelle Jones (spike66@ibm.net)
Sat, 01 Aug 1998 09:49:52 -0700

Mike Linksvayer wrote:

> The current New Scientist has a feature on Roton available...
> ... These and other improvements could
> supposedly provide an eighty percent reduction in cost/kg...

far be it from me to be a naysayer, as this offends my techno-optimistnature, but as one who works in the field, i suspect this is sales-speak.

> Rotary Rocket seems to have made financial, political and
> technological progress since then.

well, fanancial and political perhaps... {8^D

> Daniel Goldin likes them, and
> they supposedly could do flight testing next March.

yes, and this puzzles me. goldin is perhaps the most technically advanceddirector of nasa we have ever had, so is not easily fooled. i shall reserve
judgement on roton, although i must confess deep skepticism. spike