From: "Jean-Francois Avon" <jf_avon@citenet.net>
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 1996 08:24:52 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: **"OuR" Project press release** (fwd)
Message-ID: <9608302225.AA22270@cti02.citenet.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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On 30 Aug 96 at 12:25, jim bell wrote:


> Recommendation for the next one:  Rather than try to brute force  an
> LEO from about sea level, how about  lofting the rocket by balloon
> up to a starting altitude of, say, 100,000 feet, and letting'er'rip
> from there?  (this is probably not a new technique...)

This technique has been used a lot.  But bear in mind that the goal
of the whole operation was to perfect their knowledge of the
technology of rockets.  Launching from a balloon born platform is
not a triviality.  Ground launch enables much more control in the
super critical phase called "countdown and launch", where a lot of
the failures occurs.  When they will have mastered theses phases, 
then, the'll start thinking about an airborne launch platform.

If you want to learn about it, there is a rocketry group on Usenet.
>From there, you can ask directions for various sites, mainly outside
of north america, where they experiment with homebuilt liquid-liquid,
liquid-solid and other engines.  There is also quite a large movement
in USA, but I did not find (a year ago), sites that were as
experimental as the europeans (Belgians?) ones.   It seems that the 
US sites are more talking about using some commercially built motors, 
mainly using liquid-solid technology.

Have fun

jfa
 DePompadour, Societe d'Importation Ltee; Limoges porcelain, silverware and crystal
 JFA Technologies, R&D consultants: physicists, technologists and engineers.

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