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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.
an ICBM with a stealth fighter attached isn't cool?
http://michaelsmith.id.au
- 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
Back in 1999 I had an internship at a "spaceport" in idaho competing to be the home of Lockheed's failed Venture Star (X-33). The advantages in Idaho are you start at about 5000 feet elevation and if you want a polar orbit the farther north the better. Since the plan was to pick 2 sites idaho (like about 30 other sates) thought they could have a compelling reason to be the second, every one assumed florida would be one. Based on my experience there and the problems we were facing because we would have to fly close to calgary and edmonton I have to say flying over DC is definately a very long shot. The population density of the east coast will be very problematic for anyone trying to launch east that is not on the coast. If you launch from the mid west by the time you get to the coast your rocket will have enough velocity to bring many more cities into play during an error/failure than those you fly directly over (Boston, NYC, Phili, Baltimore, DC). I am not saying it is impossible but you will have a very hard time proving to the FAA and the public that there is a 10E-9 or even 10E-6 chance of killing someone during an error (these were the kinds of numbers we were trying to show for launching north from idaho). For reference population densities of canada can be seen at http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/peoplea ndsociety/population/population2001/density2001 and population densities of america can be seen at http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/peoplea ndsociety/population/population2001/density2001.
GENERATION 27: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
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.
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 think it is spelled I O W A.