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A Spaceport In Ohio?
UglyTool writes to alert us to an initiative by the state of Ohio and the city of Columbus to lure Canadian rocketeers PlanetSpace to launch from an area airport (the former Lockbourne Air Force Base, now called Rickenbacker International Airport). A decision on the incentives could be made by January. From the article: "Such a package could include tax credits, financing programs and training grants amounting to millions of dollars... PlanetSpace's chairman, Indian-American entrepreneur Chirinjeev Kathuria, told MSNBC.com he expected the incentives to amount to 'somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million.'" Five other states have spaceports approved or planned.
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I always like reading about efforts to get humanity off this ball of rock and water. One thing about the location though, I thought that the closer to the equator, the better. How does that compare against tax breaks?
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is usually crucified.
Spaceships launch east, preferably from the equator. This will mean basically that a private company can launch ballistic payloads up into the air over DC. Nobody there will let this happen.
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I'd be more than happy to ride on Burt Rattan's SpaceShipOne, but PlanetSpace's rocket looks more like an ICBM with a stealth fighter attached than something destined for sightseeing. I'm sure it's fine, but it doesn't have that "Cool" factor for me.
... it seems like the vast Canadian tundra would be a far cheaper alternative, and the Canadian government would probably even lend some of their military airports to support Canada's image worldwide (not that it really needs much support).
I wonder why a Canadian team is paying that much money to fly from Ohio
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Um, this is a dumb idea
As others have already noted, Ohio has two strokes against it:
It is substantially farther from the equator than Florida (and other proposed SW "spaceports").
There are heavily populated areas around and to the east of it it. Falling lower stages and strap-on boosters could end up mashing a house or highway or city block.
I wonder if there's a bandwagon effect in action. Cities in the SW are starting to get publicity for hosting space ports, so why not Ohio?
I can picture charming hucksters selling cities on space ports the way that con artist sold Springfield on thier monorail.
- The Wright brothers, who developed and flew the first airplane, were from Ohio.
- John Glenn, the first man in orbit, is an Ohioan.
- Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, is an Ohioan.
- Now, they are talking about building a spaceport in Ohio.
It just shows what length men will go to to get the hell out of Ohio!Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
Where do you think Jerry Springer comes from? The former mayor of Cincinnati is obviously not from this planet, and that's where he's been hiding his intergalactic pimp ride.
He's just found another way to cash in the general masses!
These are suborbital craft. They go straight up, and come straight down. The only way they'll leave Ohio airspace is by going high enough to be out of the atmosphere.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
The article mentions that the site for launching and landing could be different. Ohio seems to be bidding for a landing and manufacturing site, with launching as a possiblity only if it's approved by the FAA. The article even mentions the idea of launching off of a barge and landing in Ohio.
Remember New Mexico was going to build one too...
offhand I'd think Ohio, being farther north, would be at a disadvantage.
Ideally you'd want the highest altitude closest to the equator. Meaning Ecuador would be the logical place to put it.
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
The "stealth aircraft" part of the system is not part of the original rocket (I've seen the original). It had a proper nose cone and looked very much like the V2 rocket that was the design's inspiration (See here).
Besides, you have the story backwards. Canada is not looking to fly out of Ohio. Ohio is trying to enice them to come. As you noted, we have plenty of launch sites available here in the Great White North.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
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Why all the comments about being close to the equator? This is a SUBORBITAL craft. It goes up, and then comes down. It travels no more than 50 miles horizontally. It makes no difference whatsoever where on the planet the craft is launched from. There are many places in Canada from which they can launch. Ohio just wants to grab a slice of the pie. In fact, the suggested airbase is actually not viable, because the first stage (the red and white rocket shaped part) is designed to splash down. There is no major lake near Rickenbacker.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
I also wonder what all the commercial air traffic is going to do for the couple minutes it is going to take for the craft to get out of the way. I am sure the FAA computers are up to the task of managing that situation.
Overall I think it is not a bad idea. More spaceports will eventually be needed, and they will have to be spaced throughout the country. At this point, however, it would seem that testing would be better done on the coasts or in the desert.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
I think it is spelled I O W A.
HAHA, you RTFA'd!
-1, Nerd
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When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
I wonder if an Ohio location has anything to do with Ohio State University. OSU has a top-notch engineering program and is the second-largest school in the US (and bigger than anything in Canada). If there were a space port in Ohio, OSU engineering students would be lining up to volunteer (for free) to help with the space program.
That's gotta make the deal look juicy to the Canucks.
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The Russians launch over land all the time. But it's been said that there have been occasional problems with this.
I thought that Alaska was the only non-federally owned launch site in the US. It is the only location not in Florida that can lauch east and still be over water. It's the farthest north of any sites ever proposed (good for polar launches). It is good for launching test rockets for the missile defense (the other site approximates what would happen if New Zealand would attack the US, Alaska approximates a Russian, Chinese, or North Korean launch). And, it's a great place to hunt bears or fish if weather delays your launch. Not to mention it is cheaper than any other launch site for launch fees, thought getting the rocket there (and fuel for non-polar launches) might be more. Oh, and unlike other proposed non-federal sites, it's been operating for years.
Go Alaska!
Learn to love Alaska
I would just like to say something to deflate your huge sense of self worth. Slashdot was started by guys from Michigan. :P
:P
And... cmdrtaco lives really close to School Up North
I feel better now.
Sometimes when I'm working on projects things disappear, I suspect gremlins.
The last time something called the rickenbacker got involved in space travel, she got involved.
I am one of many. My idea is not unique, nor do I expect my voice alone to sway you. I speak in a chorus of opinion.
Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon.com) has Blue Origin in Kent, Washington and has chosen an area near Van Horn in West Texas for the spaceport. He has bought 290,000 acres of desert ranch land. They tested the rocket at the spaceport on November 13th and plan 10 suborbital tests in the next year. There have been articles in AP, The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC and other sources.
The Ohio State University is only considered the best because they haven't played the Beavers yet. Go Beavs!!! And they only get a spaceport because our governor is a jackass.
System Shock 2 starts in 2114, forty-two years after the events in System Shock, with the TriOptimum starship Von Braun serving as its main setting. The Von Braun is on its maiden voyage as the first faster-than-light starship in human history, and is joined by a Unified National Nominate (UNN) military starship, the Rickenbacker, an armed escort for the journey into the unknown.
A port is, in transportation terminology, a place where commerce occurs and goods or people are transshipped. This isn't a port - it's an amusement park.
"There is nothing wrong with Ohio,
except the snow and the rain."
It's almost ALWAYS been Rickenbacker Air Force Base. At least since WWI as Eddie Rickenbacker, a Ohio Native, was a ace during WWI. Not sure where in hell they got Lockbourne unless that was what it was named before it was Rickenbacker.
Gorkman
This happened in Queensland, Australia. A two person company supposedly backed by a consortium of many others got an undisclosed amount out of the taxpayers to plan a spaceport. The same corrupt politician who fell for this also was taken in by a perpetual energy car that ran on water - although it is possible he made something on the deal himself in both cases - he liked getting brown paper bags full of cash according to what came out in court.