Posted on 02/06/2006 5:13:21 PM PST by KevinDavis
Two thousand years ago, chariot racing was the greatest spectator sport in the Roman world. It drew huge crowds and inspired violent emotions. Today’s soccer riots are small potatoes compared to the chariot racing riots of ancient Byzantium. Technologically, however, the sport did nothing to increase the military or economic power of the empire. By contrast, various forms of motor racing have improved at least a few important aspects of today’s automobiles. The better handling cars that are now on the market owe a lot to the efforts of decades of racecar designers. Things like fuel injection systems and overhead cams also have their origins in the car-racing world.
Last Monday in New York, the Rocket Racing League (RRL) introduced the first of what they expect will be ten teams of rocket pilots who will be racing a new version of XCOR’s EZ-Rocket, with a more powerful rocket engine fueled by LOX and kerosene, sometime in 2007. This exhaust from this engine will produce a visually stunning six-meter-long yellow flame that should provide quite a show. If all goes as planned, the first Mark-1 X-Racer is now being built by Velocity Aircraft in Florida and will make its debut sometime this autumn.
(Excerpt) Read more at thespacereview.com ...
It won't do a thing to get us into space for real, but it could eventually grow into something like NASCAR with all the commercial advertising space.
Somehow I can not imagine a race that last only four minutes garnering much of a mass audience.
There would have to be numerous heats and the rocket planes would have to be turned around in fairly short periods of time to participate in finals. This would be some thing like drag races.
Last I remember rocket engines needed complete rebuilds and detailed inspections after each flight.
The promoters are talking about the ways to use television and advertising to whip this up into something significant. Could be done, it's just marketing, like the Superbowl, which is seriously not a significant world event either.
Marketing only works if you can appeal to your targets life experiences.
Your average Joe has played football has watched it from his earliest days.
Your average Joe has never flown in a rocket most Joes have never done more than shot bottle rockets on the Forth of July.
Model airplane races are not even as popular as they once were.
Marketing will have a little trouble selling these events as more than an occasional curiosity and curiosities do not have staying power.
Another problem is that a race such as these requires a great deal of space. This race will require a great deal more space than say a NASCAR race. This limits your venues and thus the size of nation wide audience you can develop.
>It won't do a thing to get us into space for real...
... unless it's successful. Then it's a great big boot in the door, and for obvious reasons.
Good points. I am skeptical, but the promoters expect this to take several years, and they are good at marketing. Can they make a silk purse out of it?
That's right. There are other things going on in the world that may kick this off the front page for a long time to come. Odds are long for now.
When Free Republic sponsors a Rocket Racing Team, it does!!!!!
No. Next!
NASROCKET?
Instant replay can stretch that to a half an hour at least.
That’s great for the folks at home. What about the poor sap in the stands. He’ll blow his paycheck on beer and hot dogs waiting for the next heat to start.
Cheerleaders, then?
I like how you think.
When Free Republic sponsors a Rocket Racing Team, it does!!!!!
If free republic does sponser one of these babies in the future, I'll throw money at it! That would rock! :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.