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Japan's 20-Year Plan for Space
rwven writes "Japan has just released information on their new space plan which will take them through the year 2025. Included in their plan are robots and nanotechnology for moon surveys as well as an eventual hydrogen powered mach-5 capable plane, a mach-2 capable passenger airliner and a manned mission to the moon. They will consider missions to mars and other planets after 2025. Space.com is also carrying this story."
To say we don't have a plan is pretty ignorant. Go look at http://exploration.nasa.gov/ and you'll see it in great detail. I think what you mean to say is that you don't agree with it -- so say that instead. And going to Mars is a very small, far off part of that plan.
Finally, most of your six points are part of that plan -- except for the maglift sci-fi you propose.
Respectfully, it looks like you have some reading to do.
They launch rockets from Tanegashima Island, Japan's answer to Cape Canaveral...
One man's Funny is another man's Offtopic.
It's not really limited to higher class or that much time. You can get your PPL in as little as 40 hours (though that's rare. I'd plan for around 60) and an older Cessna 150 or 152 can be had for around $18,000. If you're willing to build a kit airplane you can have a very high performance brand-new aircraft for as little as $10k for some models, with darn-nice models (like the Mustang II or Zodiac 601XL) coming in at around $25-35k to build. That's cheap but it's not exactly higher class either.
:).
What seems to keep most people out of the air is that they're downright terrified of flying. My family completely flipped out when I told them I'd be taking pilot's lessons, and no ammount of statistics would convince them that GA is safe. To them they truly belive that flying a private plane is a question of when you crash and die, not if. Most of the general public seem to share in this ignorance. Oh well. Their loss
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
Some *real* space launch systems (not low delta-V joyrides like SS1) actually do get launched from aircraft - Pegasus, for example. The problem is that once you get over a certain size (a size that the shuttle is far, far beyond), you need to scale aircraft to sizes that we haven't even approached. Carrying an empty shuttle is nothing like carrying a filled shuttle with an external tank.
Also, there's the issue of "what type of carry"? Carrying on the underbelly may seem attractive, but it requires a custom-designed plane with a huge degree of ground clearance - it's not a nice shape to work with. There can be problems on deployment as well. A basic tow-launch system seems attractive (minimal aircraft modifications), until you consider the landing gear and structural penalties needed for supporting the weight of the fuel during takeoff. A better option is either tow to altitude and then fuel from the towing craft (fuelling lines attached the whole time), or take off with minimal fuel and dock like a fighter. One additional effectively demonstrated method is to stow your spacecraft inside the body of the aircraft, and then launch it out the back with a drouge chute to maintain stability. While this gives clear size constraints, it requires almost no aircraft modifications, no extra drag during ascent, it can be pre-fueled, and it doesn't have significant landing gear/structural penalties.
What a crazy random happenstance!