Posted on 11/16/2004 1:59:56 PM PST by Jambe
Live thread of 3rd and final X43-A drop.
Drop scheduled approx 5:30 EST. B52 is airborne.
i seen mach like 9.3 on the screen
Success!
Now showing live visualization using data from X43-A.
So would Mach 9.32 be considered a success? A bit short of their expectations.
I watched on NASA teevee -- very cool
Now slowing to Mach 7. Will take 10 minutes to glide to the ocean.
They dont plan to recover the craft.
Also cool that realtime data visualized into attitude of the craft
Burt Rutan with a few million sent a ship into space twice in ten days.
N.A.S.A. has gotten trillions of tax dollars and can't keep a shuttle fleet running with 250 million per shot.
Give that money to private business and we'd have men living on Mars by now along with having space as an every day type of thing.
Exactly. Having worked on the periphery of this all my life, it would be my contention that 99% of the products attributed to NASA were really developed in DOD funded programs. I think political correctness plays into this big time.
Wrong-o-rama.
There are many, many things the government does to waste taxpayer money, funding the UN for example, or having a Department of Education or any of a dozen other extra-Constitutional bureaucracies.
Exploring space and the edges of technology are NOT wastes, assuming the efficiency of the organizations is maintained. Some significant percentage of our economic vitality over the past 40 years has been attributable to cooperation between our best scientists and financial help from government funds.
X43-A is gliding back to Earth. They are showing visualizations of turns and manuvers they are putting the X43-A through as it desends.
X43-A will spash into Pacific and will not be recovered.
Data from the performace is critical.
I agree with your conclusion that private industry does a wonderfull job and should get more challenge grants for pure research, but sub-orbital space flight (what Burt did) and orbital flight (What NASA does with the SS) is harder, and more expensive, by a factor of 10 for a very good reason.
Comparing the 2 side by side is not a smart exercise.
Just Launched...On it's way to Mach 10.0...All things nominal....
NOT
So. Looks like it worked! Or at least it crashed into the sea like it's supposed to!!! ;-P
Well the speed of sound (Mach) is 761mph... they achieved Mach 9.32 so that would be 9.32x761 = 7092.51mph !
The intel agencies were really steamed when space exploration was handed of to NASA.
The "old school" intel guys must be drooling in their Ensure over this.
I don't know if they have stated if the engine burn was a complete success.
What they are looking for is does the speed increase when the fuel is supplied. Waiting for that info.
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