Shuttle

not enough to get out of Earth's gravity well, it should also prove promising:

http://chaos.fullerton.edu/~jimw/nasa-pap/

"...Compare this to the efficiency of NASA's Deep Space I's Xenon Ion Thruster. This groundbreaking propulsion device uses 2.5 kilowatts of electricity, plus a finite supply of Xenon gas, to produce 92 mN, or 9200 dynes, which is 3.7 dynes per watt. The last unofficial results obtained in Woodward's lab is a force of 500 dynes; assuming about the same amount of input power, this works out to a "proven" efficiency of 3.4 dynes per watt! So, Woodward's simple device, even at its current state of development, given a continuous supply of electricity from solar panels, could produce today almost as much propulsive force as that available to Deep Space I -- and it would never run out of fuel! "~ extract from related article

PONDER,T.

[Voyager13b]

Tovar,

There are a number of technologies that have promise for future application in space, but one thing lost when the SU went broke was competitive spirit. The space race was all about sports and flag waving for most of both populations. Who could do what first. When the game was at it's peak, new ideas were pressed into service fairly quickly. When the SU could no longer compete, the game was considered to be won, and interest waned. Don't read this to mean that I have no interest in space tech, as I am as interested as you are (I just don't want to see LL on Mars), but the current state of funding won't change much unless it becomes a flag waving, competitive game again.

Meanwhile, the players that are left (corporate and intellectual) are playing the game of survival, and that leaves little room for new thinkers and new companies to get a slice of the pie. I think most progress will be incremental, and most calls will be safe calls. Be patient, Tovar, as the game can be rejoined at the corporate level in the future, right after someone figures out that there is direct economic value in space technology. Then ideas will be welcome, and risks will be taken once again.

Until that happens, I think sports stadiums will continue to be a bigger draw, since with no real competition, any new adventures in space have too much risk of humiliation. Remember the Mars blunders of a few years ago? Millions lost, national pride wounded, and for what (asks the taxpayer)? To make it worse, it was stable, proven technology. I think space tech needs another Edison vs Westinhouse (Tesla) economic competition to really get it off the ground again.


Voyager

[Voyager13b]

Originally posted by eyeradi8

Oh, sorry. Here's your reply....

8,

I'd love to see someone hack an Intel commercial shown during the Super Bowl with that image...


Voyager