He is making in-roads and contacts

Alabama is pronuclear. If we could get all future reactors in my state, the array could be used for power beaming to SE for SPS assembly, then SPS powers us.

Gene Meyers told me about that. I wonder if SPS systems of a different, more rugged sort could exist orbiting the sun or Jupiter's rad zones...

I think Sao Tome would be a good nearby island.

The R-7 LV turned 50 in May. Polyus turned 20 the same month

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz_acts.html
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/r7.html

That might be better used to lift large payloads for a fast flyby as per my earlier concept....

That is exactly what I was suggesting. In this manner, large excavating machines can be bodily lifted off Earth (Front End Loaders, Caterpillers, wetstage Domes with gas propellants for RATO systems.

The asteroid would be moved close to Earth and the Moonbase assembled with this mega heavy lift system. No more shrinking payloads.

I don't know if this would work, but here goes.

I think it may be best to use asteroids on fast flybys as some kind of skyhook.

A large ship on the surface of the water has SRBs and a hydrofoil.

Above are two asteroids, linked by tethers. The smallest asteroid is revolving backwards away from the forward direction of the pair. This smallest asteroid (of the bola) is dragging a 200 nm tether.

This is caught by the large naval vessel at speed, and the entire craft is thrown into space, and the tethers cut. The small asteroid on its back spin pulls the craft straight up, but more slowly and less violently than the main asteroid would if tethered to the payload directly.

Clean and jerk to orbit.

 The tether doesn't need to be as long, and might actually have less stress than the constant weight----however the transition will be violent--but the tethers only need to be 200 miles in length. The payloads would be quite large--perhaps destroyer sized.


I call this the HLTAF method.

Any thoughts?

Do a search on "Julia," "Bloop" on SOSUS, and see what you find...

Gene Meyers at http://www.spaceislandgroup.com is talking to some politicos and they seem receptive

There are boron buckyballs now, Boron is also used in energetic fuels (pentaborane)and makes for a fine heat shield material (borazon)

I wonder what the effects of pentaboane doing a burn on borazon would be...Gas deposition of bucky-boron-tubes? 

Boron is the future (even if Blackstar's Boron gel fuel is BS)

A rotovator for humans, the SE for cargo. If the rotorvator is on a long looping orbit, it might release a capsule slightly after lifting it up out of atmo. The vehicle rises slowing as it goes, until passing near the top of the SE, where small rockets can be had.

I am trying to think how a lunar cycler Rotovator might mesh up with the SE at certain release points---but my head hurts.

New links...
Launch Vehicle Book
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/156347591X/encyclopediaastr

Alabama authors fight aliens! News at 11!
http://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php?t=57860

Orion evolves again, modelers pull hair out!
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5097

Space Week continues tonite!
http://science.discovery.com/convergence/space-week/space-week.html
http://discovery.blogs.com/space_exploration_blog/2007/05/spaceflight_for.html#comments

Space Art
http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/spaceart/art-f.html

As you all know--one of the things a sea-borne SE base will need is some type of platform. I wonder is one just might be available in the near future...
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5012

Yes the official line is that the damage is not so severe. Customers--who hold the real purse-strings, however--may not be so forgiving.

If Sea Launch does not recover financially, the platform might be up on the auction block--or worse--destined for the scrap-man's torch.

Even if this platform and its parent company recovers--one day it most likely will be up for sale. With the Sea Dragon concept, you can launch 550 tons into LEO, and yet need no launch platform at all. The Sea Launch Command and Control ship will do nicely--and Sea Dragon could dangle a hefty tether down to the Sea Launch platform--all in one go perhaps.

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1544&posts=21&start=1

See here...
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5013