Rocket Racing League
There's some news updates at the Rocket Racing League website.
Why is this exciting? Well partly, I'm just an aeroplane nut, and I like watching aeroplanes, especially fast ones. (I can name by sight most of the warbirds that flew in WW2 for any nation, for example, courtesy of youthful obsession). But also it's exciting because there's a theory behind the RRL that ought to help the development of human spaceflight.
It's capitalism again. If this league makes money, it will create incentive for rocket engine manufacturers to re-invest in new engines and new technologies. Racing teams will want basically what private operators want -- more safety, more fuel-efficiency, more performance, and all at affordable prices. Whether you like motor racing or not, you can't deny it's done a lot for commercial motoring in a whole range of fields. Hopefully the same will apply here.
Assuming all the technology works, there's still a lot of things that'll have to go right for all this to work. Rocketplanes racing through virtual aerial courses at high speeds ought to look spectacular, but there has to be drama and entertainment in the contest, too. I hope they spend some time just finding what looks cool, with in-aeroplane cameras and the like. If they need any help with visual ideas, they should ask someone like Hollywood director James Cameron, who's a techie-nut and would probably love to help.
I'm also pleased to see that, in an article on space.com, they're talking to a female pilot for one of the next team announcements. With the Danica Patrick phenomenon in the IRL right now, soon to be followed perhaps by the Katherine Legge phenomenon in Champcar, they MUST get a female pilot, or they'd have rocks in their heads. There's plenty of female fighter jocks or ex-fighter jocks around if they care to look. One of the biggest money-spinners in sports right now is women competing against men. And with a new, risky business venture like this one, they'll need as many marketing hooks as they can find.
Why is this exciting? Well partly, I'm just an aeroplane nut, and I like watching aeroplanes, especially fast ones. (I can name by sight most of the warbirds that flew in WW2 for any nation, for example, courtesy of youthful obsession). But also it's exciting because there's a theory behind the RRL that ought to help the development of human spaceflight.
It's capitalism again. If this league makes money, it will create incentive for rocket engine manufacturers to re-invest in new engines and new technologies. Racing teams will want basically what private operators want -- more safety, more fuel-efficiency, more performance, and all at affordable prices. Whether you like motor racing or not, you can't deny it's done a lot for commercial motoring in a whole range of fields. Hopefully the same will apply here.
Assuming all the technology works, there's still a lot of things that'll have to go right for all this to work. Rocketplanes racing through virtual aerial courses at high speeds ought to look spectacular, but there has to be drama and entertainment in the contest, too. I hope they spend some time just finding what looks cool, with in-aeroplane cameras and the like. If they need any help with visual ideas, they should ask someone like Hollywood director James Cameron, who's a techie-nut and would probably love to help.
I'm also pleased to see that, in an article on space.com, they're talking to a female pilot for one of the next team announcements. With the Danica Patrick phenomenon in the IRL right now, soon to be followed perhaps by the Katherine Legge phenomenon in Champcar, they MUST get a female pilot, or they'd have rocks in their heads. There's plenty of female fighter jocks or ex-fighter jocks around if they care to look. One of the biggest money-spinners in sports right now is women competing against men. And with a new, risky business venture like this one, they'll need as many marketing hooks as they can find.
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