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...there hasn't been any 'wow' project which has simply been unable to get funding.

NASA basically killed the McDonnell Douglas DC-X.

Instead of going ahead with the Delta Clipper, which had working flight tested hardware, they went with the more expensive, riskier, technology of the Lockhead Martin X-33 design for the RLV program. While much more impressive, if it worked, the Lockheed design was alot riskier.

Then in 2001 they killed the entire SSTO program stone cold dead...

Why in the heck is Lockheed Martin produce pr0n!! ;-)

I tend to dislike government involvement at least as much as the next guy (which is sort of ironic, considering what I do) but this seems fairly reasonable. One thing that governments have done for a long time is establish standards (especially units of measure) and test whether products live up to their claims vis a vis those standards. I don't think it's that big a jump from certifying that a "pound" of flour really weighs a standard pound to certifying that a wireless networking hub offers the security it claims to.

Lockheed Marin

Lol, is that a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Cheech Marin?

Jes bustin' yer chops...

Can't say it enough, working in your chosen field during college gives you a huge advantage in this regard. I work in embedded development, and my work experience during school was invaluable in jumpstarting my professional career.

During my junior and senior years, I worked at a laser printer manufacturer, maintaining and upgrading code for older products. It wasn't super glamorous, but I also wasn't just getting coffee for people, and I learned more in that year and a half than I did in the entire rest of my academic career.

After graduation, I had no trouble getting exactly the kind of work I wanted. I went to work on transportation projects at a major defense contractor for a few years, went back into the printer industry for a few years after that, and am now a senior engineer at a consulting firm working on several traffic management and wireless messaging solutions.

When I graduated in 1994 the market was already fairly competitive, and someone who had real experience working in a team with other engineers, burning ROMs, documenting software, and producing embedded code which ran in real products, had an obvious advantage over someone whose experience consisted solely of implementing linked lists and writing papers on finite automata. With today's large numbers of out of work developers, and the proportionately larger number of CS graduates entering the market, it's incredibly important to distinguish yourself.

The project's page here has pictures and links.

For the curious, here's Lockheed' page about the Athena rocket.

Such a plant could generate enough electricity to pump seawater up and crack it into hydrogen and oxygen. It would be a whole hell of a lot cleaner than oil rigs on offshore platforms, and could in fact be set up on oil platforms in tropical regions (like the Gulf of Mexico) that no longer produce enough crude oil to be profitable, or that must be shut down over environmental concerns. OTEC plants are very clean, very safe, and fairly inexpensive to run. They could be a viable method for producing hydrogen almost for free.

More on that project is available here. It is in conjunction with Boeing and TRW.

A space-based laser is planned to follow (also similar to the plan of the plot in Real Genius. Though it is not due to be functional until 2008-2010, it is already in design stages. It is also a USAF & Lockheed Martin project. For more info about it, check here.

It's interesting for those of you who have seen Real Genius how closely our Missle Defense System will follow the course of the movie. It is almost a theft of the plot. The main difference is that airborne/space-based laser in the movie was to be used for offensive strategy, not defensive.

More on that project is available here. It is in conjunction with Boeing and TRW.

A space-based laser is planned to follow (also similar to the plan of the plot in Real Genius. Though it is not due to be functional until 2008-2010, it is already in design stages. It is also a USAF & Lockheed Martin project. For more info about it, check here.

It's interesting for those of you who have seen Real Genius how closely our Missle Defense System will follow the course of the movie. It is almost a theft of the plot. The main difference is that airborne/space-based laser in the movie was to be used for offensive strategy, not defensive.

Though the .museum concept actually does sound like a fair idea, IMO. Put most of the museum sites in one TLD so you can organize them easily. Of course, you'll have to have some strict ground rules for the domains, like having to have actual online exhibits, but it can work out pretty fairly.

these programs were not just nasa...they were ventures made up of several leading aerospace companies, many of whose shareholders are rich, and were hoping (obviously) for a nice production run, as well as high tech spinoffs that would keep the USA and her economy strong.

In recessive times, sometimes it's not best to go into production, but just stick with r&d.

the X34 and X33 were both fairly close to production, so a lot of r&d is already done.

Here are linx for anyone interested :

X33 and X34 and more in-depth stuff at x33 (nasa) and X34 (nasa)

What a shame. The linear aerospike engine was in test, the frame and skin were waiting for the tank, and the launchpad is almost done.

These technologies and programs would have created thousands of jobs as they trickled down through the US economy.

these programs were not just nasa...they were ventures made up of several leading aerospace companies, many of whose shareholders are rich, and were hoping (obviously) for a nice production run, as well as high tech spinoffs that would keep the USA and her economy strong.

In recessive times, sometimes it's not best to go into production, but just stick with r&d.

the X34 and X33 were both fairly close to production, so a lot of r&d is already done.

Here are linx for anyone interested :

X33 and X34 and more in-depth stuff at x33 (nasa) and X34 (nasa)

What a shame. The linear aerospike engine was in test, the frame and skin were waiting for the tank, and the launchpad is almost done.

These technologies and programs would have created thousands of jobs as they trickled down through the US economy.

"Outraged! Outraged! Our glorious revolution nearly failed this harvest season when a C-130 Hercules transport cracked an engine mount. This shit-eating miserable plane had THREE STOPS for unscheduled repairs last month alone. THREE! Meanwhile the insurgent peasants are rearming and power is slipping through my fingers like rice bobbing down a spring stream.

So of course I try to return the plane but the ignorant swine at Lockheed-Martin will not accept it without a receipt! A RECEIPT! They say I could have bought it from some OTHER aircraft and aerospace manufacturing concern! Absurd! They will not even give me in-store credit!

If the ignorant revolutionaries gain control of our southwest border because my LOCKHEED CRAP could not deliver supplies, may the stinking, rotting carcasses from this company swell and burst, soiling the earth of their foul campus with their necrotic entrails for seven generations to come!"